Artist Kelcy Taratoa takes up Residency at Scots College

Artist Kelcy Taratoa takes up Residency at Scots College

Students at Scots College will have the opportunity to learn first-hand from Kelcy Taratoa, one of New Zealand’s most exciting young up-and-coming artists, after he ‘moved in’ to the College’s Creative and Performing Arts Centre earlier this week, commencing a three-week artist residency.

Taratoa is the College’s second Artist in Residence, a new initiative sponsored by the Museum Art Hotel, Wellington, which saw renown New Zealand artist Seraphine Pick as the inaugural guest artist at the College last year. The residency will run from 28 July – 15 August during which time Taratoa will be producing his own paintings, as well as teaching art classes and mentoring students aged 5-18 years.

“As an artist, this residency is a great opportunity to step outside my studio and current tertiary teaching commitments, and immerse myself in a whole new and very stimulating environment,” said Taratoa.

“My work focuses on popular culture and making sense of the world around us, and I use a combination of both digital techniques and traditional painting methods, which I hope will really interest the boys.”

“I believe art and creativity are an incredibly important part of education, especially for boys. Creativity enables young people to begin to process the world around them, to really focus on a task and take pleasure in creating something… and as a rugby league coach I know just how much energy boys have to burn. I am also really looking forward to sharing my knowledge and personal experiences as a professional artist, with senior students considering a creative career path,“ said Taratoa.

“Our main objective in setting up this residency is to enable our students to personally meet and be inspired by creative professionals. It’s amazing how a single experience such as this can have quite a profound impact on a young person’s life. It could be something the artist said, or taught them, or simply watching them work, that triggers a lifelong interest or even determines a student’s future career path,” said Headmaster Graeme Yule.

“As a College we seek to provide our students with a wide variety of experiences, many of which are over and above the standard curriculum,” said Yule. “We want our boys to give everything a go, to pursue and develop their interests. Ultimately it’s about supporting them to be the best they can be, to realise their potential,”.

Key sponsor and arts patron Chris Parkin of the Museum Art Hotel too is excited about Taratoa’s residency. “We are delighted to partner with Scots to host Kelcy as their 2014 Artist in Residence,” said Parkin. “I have followed Kelcy’s career path with interest, and we are very much looking forward to hosting Kelcy’s public floortalk and auction event on Sunday 17 August at our hotel. We enjoy supporting and promoting art and artists in the Capital, and this residency programme is our way of furthering that support,” he said.

This residency is by invitation from the College, and is open to creative professionals from all areas of the visual arts. Expressions of interest are welcomed at any time, and further information is available on the website, http://www.scotscollege.school.nz/artist-in-residence

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