Residents Sept 2019 – Sept 2020
Kate de Goldi is one of New Zealand’s most loved children’s and short story writers, Kate has been a full time writer since 1997 and has been a major contributor to our culture as a creative writing teacher; a book-related broadcaster and radio commentator; and a participant of Writers in Schools. She regularly chairs numerous literary festivals both in New Zealand and internationally. Her accolades are numerous including the Katherine Mansfield Memorial Award; Arts Foundation Laureate; Michael King Fellowship; the Margaret Mahy Award and the Young Readers Award Corine Literature Prize.
During her time in Residence, Kate worked on a number of books including ‘Eddy Eddy’ published by Allen and Unwin, 2022, a novel grappling with identity love, loss and religion. She also -co-edited an anthology of new poems for New Zealand middle readers: ‘Skinny Dip’. Massey University Press 2021.
Kate also undertook a number of public engagements during her residency including: keynote address at the Ignition Festival, Dunedin (2019); chaired several sessions at ‘Wild Imaginings’, a national children’s writer’s and illustrators workshop (2019); was interviewed at Arrowtown Athenaeum as part of a small arts festival (2019) and chaired an ‘in conversation’ with Lloyd Jones, Avi Duckor-Jones and Sam Duckor-Jones at the Across the Bridge Festival, Bannockburn (2019). During 2020 she was guest speaker at the Central Otago Arts Society AGM, Alexandra Lions Club, Alexandra Rotary Club, Dunstan Friendship Group and Alexandra Probis where she spoke about her work with the National Library around their strategic aim to build a nation of readers. She was also guest speaker at the Oturehua Writers Retreat and chaired a poetry panel with Fiona Farrell, Sue Wootton and Annabelle Wilson at the ‘Across the Bridge Festival, Bannockburn (both 2020).
Kate has donated a series of her books to the Henderson House Art Collection.
Bruce Foster is a Master’s graduate from Elam School of Fine Arts where he focused on photography and cinema. Much of his work studies the dialogue between the natural and human-altered environments. He has exhibited prolifically and his work is represented in many public collections including the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, the Auckland Art Gallery, the Christchurch Art Gallery and New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He was one of 9 artists on the ‘Kermadec Project: Lines Across the Ocean’, an initiative to articulate the issues facing one of the few pristine ocean sites left on the planet. This work has been exhibited in the Pacific; Tonga, Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and Noumea, in Santiago, Chile, and extensively around New Zealand.
During his Residency Bruce worked on several photographic and video projects. His main project centered on two Central Otago sites of substantial land modification: Cromwell Gorge and Earnscleugh gold tailings. In it he explores questions about land interventions, our economy, our national institutions, and our future relationship with land. His book ‘The Lobster’s Tale’ (Bruce Foster and Chris Price) includes a number of photographs from his Residency at Henderson House. Massey University Press 2021. Bruce also gave a photographic presentation ‘Ways of Seeing’ at the Across the Bridge Festival (2019).
Bruce has donated a photograph to the Henderson House Art Collection.