The Rita Angus Residency in Wellington, New Zealand, is an opportunity for artists to live in the former home of Rita Angus, one of New Zealand’s best-known painters, while creating a body of new work.
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About the Residency
The Rita Angus Cottage at 194A Sydney Street West in the Wellington suburb of Thorndon was built in 1877. Rita Angus lived there from 1955 until her death in 1970.
The Heritage New Zealand entry for the cottage reads: "Many paintings of the house, the garden, the Bolton Street Cemetery and the buildings of the neighbourhood attest to the great influence this place had on the life of the artist."
In 1984, the cottage was purchased by the Thorndon Trust with the intent of providing accommodation for artists visiting Wellington, either for short periods or to work on particular projects.
In 2006, Massey University’s College of Creative Arts partnered with the Thorndon Trust to launch the inaugural Massey University Rita Angus Visual Arts, enabling both New Zealand and international artists to live at the cottage and develop a body of work. Residency.
In 2010, WelTec partnered with the Thorndon Trust to resurrect the residency. Support is also provided by Creative New Zealand.
The current residency guidelines require artists to submit proposals for a project they would like to complete while living at the cottage, with a brief to "localise the concepts 'technology' and 'culture' in the context of Aotearoa/New Zealand".
Past recipients
Other past residents include Jenny Dolezell, Nicola Jackson, Yvonne Rust, and Michael Tuffery.