Arts Access Aotearoa
Arts Access Aotearoa is calling for applications to its Whakahoa Kaitoi Whanaketanga Creative New Zealand Artist Fellowship 2025, valued at $10,000, supporting a Deaf or disabled artist to undertake a project that develops their creative practice.
Sponsored by Creative New Zealand, the Fellowship is open to Deaf or disabled artists, turi Māori or tāngata whaikaha Māori artists, or artists with a disability, impairment or lived experience of mental distress. The deadline for applications is 5pm Monday 31 March 2025.
The 2023 recipient, writer and theatre practitioner Henrietta Bollinger, says the Fellowship supported them to experiment in a new form and develop as a writer, providing financial support that acknowledged their time and that of others.
“It’s exciting that Creative New Zealand is sponsoring this fellowship, which recognises the importance of accessible opportunities for Deaf and disabled artists,” Henrietta says.
“Opportunities like this will develop the skills and talents of our Deaf and disabled communities and lead to a thriving disability culture and society where our stories are told and valued.”
Over the Fellowship period, Henrietta worked “in a supported way” on refining their first short film script. “With the support of an experienced script advisor and producer, I got the script to a stage where it is now ready for community feedback and, ultimately, production.”
The story centres on two queer-disabled people and explores the intensity of wanting to be known and understood by people living in the same minority community as you. “For me, it felt important to tell a fully developed story of two queer-disabled people. So often representation shows only one aspect of our identities and a character's 'diversity' becomes their defining feature, flattening the depth and complexity of our lived experience.
“I knew when I started telling this story that I would need the time, space and bravery to tell it. The Fellowship allowed me to incubate this project, together with people who are equally invested in it.”
Being on a Fellowship specifically supporting Deaf and disabled artists was vital to the success of the project, Henrietta says. “I could work at a pace and in a style that works for me without the pressure that can come when processes are designed around non-disabled expectations.
“This has deepened my understanding of myself as a disabled artist and made the project a richer experience. It is hugely important to have avenues such as this Fellowship because access is fundamental to a person's ability to make and engage with art.”
Information about the Fellowship is available on Arts Access Aotearoa’s website, including in New Zealand Sign Language and in EastRead. Arts Access Aotearoa is hosting information sessions on Zoom on Thursday 27 February, Tuesday 4 March and Wednesday 5 March. Please visit the website for more details, to check your eligibility and register for a Zoom information session.
