Announcing our new NZ guest Curator!

Meet our new Curator in Residence

We are excited to announce that our next curator in residence will be Māori artist, writer, curator and teacher, Hana Pera Aoake.

The residency was awarded following an open call to emerging and mid-career curators interested in testing and developing new approaches to a collaborative practice bridging artists and communities. Over 30 applications were received from which Delfina Foundation and Metroland Cultures selected four for interviews. This is the second year that Metroland and Delfina are running the residency.

About Hana

Based in Kawerau, Hana Pera Aoke is a mum of a cheeky two year old and works as the museum curator at the Sir James Fletcher Kawerau museum, a part time lecturer at University of Canterbury in art history and co-organises Kei te pai press with Morgan Godfery. Hana’s practice hinges on ways to share ideas, knowledge and resources in accessible ways to benefit her rural community, and in building connections to larger, globalised struggles. During the residency Hana hopes to share and learn more about how art spaces can work with different communities to facilitate different conversations and exchanges. Hana is interested in how a space like Metroland operates as an in-between space, bringing together different communities within the borough of Brent.

About the residency

Hana will be in residency for 12 weeks starting in April 2024. While in London, Hana will spend part of each week working at Metroland Cultures and the rest of their time with six other artists / curators / writers in Delfina Foundation’s Spring Residencies, pursuing their own research and with an interest in sharing key Māori and decolonial texts and creating spaces to read, think and learn together.

For two to three days each week Hana will be embedded in the curatorial practices at Metroland Cultures. The residency will provide unique professional development opportunities related to exhibition organization, project management, artist liaison support, research and public programming.

On being awarded the residency, Hana said: “I’m very humbled and excited for this
opportunity to share and learn in a city as dynamic as London. It will be the longest
time I’ve spent away from my two-year-old so I’m very nervous but feel privileged
and grateful to my whānau for allowing me to take this opportunity! I am keen to
bring what I learn home to enrich my community and practice. Thankyou xx”

Lois Stonock, Founder and Director of Metroland Cultures, said: “We can’t
wait to welcome Hana to Metroland Cultures – and to Brent . Our work sits at the
intersection of art and community and we aim to test and pioneer new ways for
artists and community groups to work together. We are looking forward to learning
from Hana and their approach with their communities in New Zealand.
We’re very grateful to Kent Gardner, Creative New Zealand and the British Council
for their support to enable this international exchange centred on community
practice. It is a rare opportunity to take a practice that focuses its roots locally into an
international conversation.”

We can’t wait to welcome Hana to Metroland Studios and to share more with you as the residency unfolds.

The residency is delivered by Delfina Foundation and Metroland Cultures, in partnership with TeTuhi. We thank British Council Aotearoa New Zealand and Kent Gardner for their support and for making this residency possible.

More Metroland News…

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Peer-to-Peer 2024 Cohort announced!

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A glasshouse commissioned for a community garden in the heart of the St. Raphael estate