Awarded every two years and not open for application, the residency is decided by a panel of arts leaders who nominate an artist they believe is building significant work and sits at a pivotal moment in their practice.
“That was a real surprise in itself to know that a group of people have been talking about you behind your back, in a good way, and thinking about how you might deserve a special opportunity like that,” Iti said.
“I didn’t know what to do. I started calling people. My partner came home with a bottle of champagne. I rang my mum and my friends … I was just ecstatic.”
Iti, who works across sculpture, moving image and text, sees the award as an important next step for her career.
“I think my career is at a point where I can really make the most of an opportunity like this,” she says.
“I’ve had heaps of chances to show my work in Aotearoa, but not so many internationally.”
Iti with a sculpture in progress as part of her ongoing practice. Photo / Mikhail Roderick
Iti grew up in Blenheim and studied at Ilam School of Fine Arts in Christchurch before completing a Master of Fine Arts at Massey University in Wellington.
She moved to Hawke’s Bay three years ago and is known for her poetic practice that explores relationships between land, language, identity and memory.
“Art is my main source of income. But I also teach part-time at EIT,” Iti says.
“I teach one day a week, and the rest of the time I’m focused on my work. There’s the boring admin part of it, but I usually try to spend two days a week just developing ideas, doing a bit of writing, reading and going away on research trips, and that’s the more fun, glamorous part.”
In 2024, she was awarded the $50,000 Walters Prize, Aotearoa’s leading contemporary art award.
Ana Iti in studio while developing new work during a project in Dunedin. Photo / Mikhail Roderick
Iti plans to head to New York next year, spending at least three months there, and applying for studio programmes while she is there.
“I’m really excited to go to New York to see the big museums and some of these really cool artworks that I have looked at as a student and get to experience them in real life.”
On her list are large-scale sculpture and land art at Dia Beacon, and an indigenous art collection in upstate New York called Forge.
The residency, run by The Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi, was established in 2008 through the legacy of the late Harriet Friedlander, who believed New York could stretch artists creatively, personally and culturally, general manager Jessica Palalagi says.
“Ana’s work is thoughtful, expansive and deeply connected to place,” she says.
“We are excited to see how New York reshapes, challenges and supports her next chapter.”