Resident artist

Press, 14 December 1983, Page 22

Resident artist

The first project under the Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council’s I.Y.D.P. artist-in-residence scheme ended last month. For a month Te Aturangi Nepia Clamp had lived at Pukeora Home for the Disabled, Waipukurau, and in association with the local Maori community had worked on the carving of a totara panel, depicting the story of the Tukituki River and incorporating other aspects of local mythology and geography. At the month’s end after the dedication and blessing of the panel, it was formally presented to the Pukeora Home, where it will be mounted in the entrance foyer.

During his Pukeora residency, the artist established firm relationships with a number of the residents, who took a keen interest in the progress of the carved panel, and who attended, in increasing numbers, his weekly bone-carving workshops in the home. At an evaluation session on the completion of the residency, involving the artist, Arts Council staff, residents and staff of Pukeora, and representatives of disabled people in the surrounding community, it was agreed that the impetus created by the residency should not be lost. It is planned to continue tutored workshops in bone-carving on a regular basis.