Marsden Welcomes Connah Podmore As 2025 Artist In Residence

Samuel Marsden Collegiate School is delighted to announce Connah Podmore as its Artist in Residence for 2025. Established in 1999, Marsden’s Artist in Residence programme continues to inspire students by giving them the opportunity to work alongside practising artists and engage with their creative process.

Connah Podmore is an accomplished artist with an impressive background in fine arts. She majored in Art History at university, but her passion for creating art was ignited during a student exchange where she took a class at the Glasgow School of Art. This pivotal experience led her to pursue a Postgraduate Diploma in Fine Arts at Massey University, followed by a Master of Fine Arts. Since then, Connah has exhibited across Aotearoa and participated in residencies in Wellington and the Wairarapa. She currently works at Inverlochy Art School, where she continues to develop her artistic practice.

Connah describes her work as ‘expanded drawing,’ incorporating installation, photography, weaving, painting, and text alongside her drawing practice. Taking inspiration from everyday life, her art explores the depth hidden in seemingly simple moments. Her recent large-scale charcoal drawings, built through layers of mark-making and erasure, reflect her thoughtful and poetic approach to depicting the ordinary.

Connah’s recent successes include winning the 2023 Parkin Drawing Prize, and her work has been exhibited in notable shows such as Tracing Intricacies (Webb’s Gallery, Wellington), Ordinary Devotion (Toi Pōneke, Wellington), Care Taking (Meanwhile, Wellington), and The Room Where Your Brother Was Born (RM, Auckland).

Connah is enthusiastic about the opportunity to work in a new creative environment at Marsden. “I’m ready to begin new projects and trial making new kinds of work,” she says. “My studio is at home, so the change to a community environment where I can take in other artists’ approaches and exchange of ideas will be incredibly helpful. My goal is to experiment, take chances, and push my artwork into new directions.”

Throughout the six-week residency, Connah will work closely with Marsden’s Visual Art students, focusing on composition and creative process. She plans to introduce students to her layered approach to drawing, encouraging them to explore mark-making, erasure, and rebuilding to create rich, textured work. “I hope to show students that value and importance can be found in our everyday lives, and that even simple, overlooked moments can become something significant through care and focus.”

Marsden’s Artist in Residence programme extends beyond the school community, with Connah also leading a workshop for local primary school students. The residency will culminate in an exhibition of both Connah’s and our students’ work at Te Auaha from 19–29 June.

Kathryn Cotter, Marsden’s Head of Visual Art, expressed her excitement about Connah’s appointment: “Connah brings a new way of viewing and interpreting familiar environments, which will resonate with our students. We are thrilled to have her share her expertise and creative vision with our school community.”

Marsden’s Artist in Residence programme has welcomed a prestigious list of artists over the years, building a legacy of artistic excellence and creative exchange. Connah Podmore’s residency promises to add to this rich tradition, inspiring the next generation of creative thinkers at Marsden.

To learn more about Marsden’s Artist in Residence programme, visit www.marsden.school.nz.

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