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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat 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,\u201d Iti said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Iti, who works across sculpture, moving image and text, sees the award as an important next step for her career.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think my career is at a point where I can really make the most of an opportunity like this,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had heaps of chances to show my work in Aotearoa, but not so many internationally.\u201d<\/p>\n
Iti with a sculpture in progress as part of her ongoing practice. Photo \/ Mikhail Roderick<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
She moved to Hawke\u2019s Bay three years ago and is known for her poetic practice that explores relationships between land, language, identity and memory. <\/p>\n
\u201cArt is my main source of income. But I also teach part-time at EIT,\u201d Iti says.<\/p>\n
\u201cI teach one day a week, and the rest of the time I\u2019m focused on my work. There\u2019s 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\u2019s the more fun, glamorous part.\u201d<\/p>\n