The Sarjeant Gallery's artist-in-residence programme at historic Tylee Cottage in Whanganui has been included in Creative New Zealand's investment programme for 2018 and 2019.
Gallery curator and public programmes manager Greg Donson said securing annual funding of $51,160 from the programme for the next two years reflected the success of the 31-year-old Tylee residency and its support of contemporary art practice.
The residencies are open to New Zealand artists living outside the Whanganui area, and each artist is required to produce a new body of work during the residency.
The work often draws inspiration from the Whanganui region and is subsequently exhibited by the gallery.
At least one work produced by the artist is usually gifted to the Sarjeant collection.
Mr Donson said $20,000 of the funding would go to the artist to cover living expenses for the five months they are based at Tylee Cottage.
The remainder would go towards travel expenses for each artist and help with the cost of publishing catalogues to accompany the resulting exhibitions.
Up until this year resident artists were guaranteed rent, power and phone at Tylee Cottage for the five-month residency, with a $1000 living allowance from Whanganui District Council, but had to lodge their own applications for funding.
A one-off Creative New Zealand arts grant in June enabled the gallery to offer a residency from September 2017 to January 2018 to photographer Conor Clarke and that support will now continue through the investment programme funding.
Mr Donson said inclusion in the investment programme was a big boost for the residency, and would help attract artists of high calibre.
"Many Tylee exhibition projects have been made possible in the past through Creative New Zealand generous support, but they are contestable funding rounds which means there are no assurances.
"Our inclusion in the programme enables us to provide the residents with a steady and consistent level of financial support."
As well as supporting the careers of emerging and mid-career artists, the Tylee Cottage residencies bring innovative new works with a Whanganui focus to the gallery exhibition programme, and Mr Donson said the gifting of works added depth and value to the Sarjeant's contemporary art holdings.
He said a number of resident artists had remained in Whanganui after completing their time at Tylee Cottage.
"Sue Cooke, Peter Ireland, Johanna Pegler, Andrea du Chatenier and more recently photographer Robert Thornley and sculptor Glen Hayward have chosen to make Whanganui their permanent home.
"As well as contributing to the community during their time at Tylee Cottage, their ongoing presence means they continue giving back to the area and engaging with the community which is good news for the gallery and Whanganui. "
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Works by a number of Tylee Cottage artists in the past 18 months have achieved national recognition.
Resident in 2015, photographer Roberta Thornley was recently awarded the prestigious Marti Friedlander Photographic Award in association with the Arts Foundation.
Glen Hayward, also an artist in residence in 2015, has an exhibition at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery that features a work that debuted at the Sydney Contemporary international art fair in September .
Erica van Zon was resident in 2016 and her Whanganui-inspired work Opal Moon Local Lime has just opened at Object Space in Auckland.
Glass artist Wendy Fairclough (resident from April to September 2016), whose exhibition Common Ground has just opened at the Sarjeant, received significant support for her residency from Creative New Zealand and Arts South Australia.