AUT student wins $15k Springboard Award
AUT doctoral candidate Emily Parr (Ngāi Te Rangi, Moana, Pākehā) is the 2024 recipient of the Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi Springboard Award for Visual Arts.
The Tāmaki Makaurau-based moving image artist is part of AUT’s Vā Moana research cluster, within the School of Art and Design.
Emily’s recent body of work on settler-indigenous relationships traverses oceans and centuries, seeking stories in archives and waters on haerenga to her ancestral homelands of Tauranga Moana, Sāmoa and Tonga.
Her current research considers the responsibilities she has inherited through her ancestral legacies and, in particular, to her family’s collection held by museums.
“I’m beyond thrilled and humbled to be among the 2024 Springboard rōpū,” Emily says.
“The award comes at what feels like a pivotal time in my practice as I near the end of a doctorate — I can’t wait to see what emerges over the next year with support from the Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi. I’m also grateful to the many, many people who have helped to nurture my practice so far.”
Each of the six Te Tumu Toi Springboard Awards recipients receives a $15,000 gift and is matched with a senior artist mentor from the Arts Foundation artist alumni and beyond.
Emily will be mentored by 2020 Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi Laureate Tanu Gago MNZM of FAFSWAG Collective.
The Springboard Awards, which are now in their fifth year, provide support for early-career artists. This includes the facilitation of a mentorship programme, which is promoted and documented by the foundation, and a $15,000 gift for each award recipient.
Mentors also receive a $5000 koha for their time.