Past Event

Kate Stevens West (Kāi Tahu, Pākehā) is a painter. She paints family, the connections, the needs, and emotions, intergenerational secrets and stories. Stevens West paints the everyday; mess and messiness. Recent work explores Kāi Tahutaka working with historical research, traditional paints and pigments. Stevens West lives in Te Awakairangi (Lower Hutt) with her partner and four young children.

Emma Kitson (Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, Waitaha) is an Artist, Designer and Curator who resides in Whanganui a Tara (Wellington). Her whakapapa traces its roots to Whenua Hou, the first planned bicultural settlement at the southern end of Te Waipounamu. Graduating from Dunedin School of Fine Art in 1996 she regularly exhibited at the Blue Oyster Gallery. Kitson then worked at Otago Museum which led to employment at many museums and art galleries in New Zealand and Australia. After studying Industrial Design at Massey University in the early 2000's she focussed mainly on her design work. Becoming a mother in 2012 was a catalyst for Kitson to return to making art and found printmaking to be the most accessible option. Joining Paemanu, Kāi Tahu Contemporary Artists in 2014, she has been a contributing artist in their major exhibitions at COCA and Dunedin Public Art Gallery. 

Alix Ashworth (Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, Waitaha) A multi media artist based in Ōtautahi. Their art practice discusses identity and belonging focusing on strong narrative using personal reflection to influence their creative process. After studying Fine Arts at Canterbury University they moved through a range of craft skills in order to be able to create works that celebrate historical knowledge of indigenous and non indigenous hand work. Their main medium is uku (clay), using this medium they contrast this hard media with soft hand stitched or hand woven textiles. It is important to their art practice that a majority of the work and materials are hand made, for example wool that is used in a woven pieces will be carded and hand spun by the artist before being woven into cloth.

Caitlin Rose Donnelly (Kāi Tahu, Kāti Mamoe, Pākehā) is a contemporary artist who works in various media, processes and scales, including drawing, painting, textiles and jewellery. Her practice is concerned with researching obstructions in identity. Her work often transforms rapidly, as her practice is process-driven. Her latest works have been large scale textile installations working within a kaupapa Māori framework. She holds a Master of Fine Arts from Dunedin School of Art and lives in rural Southland with her husband and two children.