Strategic Partners Announced for Incubator
AwhiWorld is excited to announce the organisational partners lined up to support the Awhi Incubator.
The project aims to raise the profile of creative technology, digital art and cross-disciplinary practice in Te Tai Tokerau.
With that in mind, we have worked hard to secure key local, national and international partners with mutual aims.
Local Partners
Locally, Creative Northland will support recruitment into the programme and marketing and special joint workshops and events.
Olivia Garelja, General Manager (pictured left with Dr Maggie Buxton), notes: “Our two organisations have built a strong partnership over the years, and the Awhi Incubator is the result of that hard work. Our goals are strongly aligned, and I look forward to seeing the cool things happening over the year for our creatives.”
National Partners
Nationally, Aotearoa Digital Arts have a long history of working to support interstitial artists. Dr Maggie Buxton was a former chair of the organisation’s
board and has leveraged this strong connection to partner with the organisation to raise the profile of Northland artists nationally. There may also be some joint projects as the Incubator progresses.
Another national organisation, Circuit, has a strong link to the project. Circuit supports moving images in all forms, including contemporary installation practice. The partnership with Circuit will again involve profile raising and potentially speaking on panels or other educational collaborations.
International Partners
The incubator’s key international partner will be SEADS, a transdisciplinary network strongly emphasising space research and contemporary science, art, engineering, technology and design collaborations. Co-founder, Angelo Vermeulen (pictured left) and other members of the collective of SEADS are working with AwhiWorld on an installation for the upcoming BIOS lab in May. More details to be revealed closer to the date.
In addition to these collaborations, the incubator has a strong working relationship with Dr Tracey M Benson from TreeCreate (Yarun Island, Brisbane) who took part in an AwhiWorld residency in 2022.
Showcasing Te Tai Tokerau | Northland
Numerous community organisations around Northland will be actively collaborating with the Awhi Incubator – with places reserved for representatives from these groups. These are currently in negotiation and will be announced after the application process is complete.
Parnering with local groups guarantees geographic and demographic representation and ensure the work is systemic rather than individual in focus.
Dr Buxton notes: “I look forward to a year of showcasing and supporting creative digital practice across the region and building systems and networks of practitioners. Seeing mutual benefits with our partner organisations emerge as we go along will be exciting.”
We are deeply appreciative that the Awhi Incubator is funded by Manatū Taonga | Ministry of Culture and Hertage’s Innovation Fund.
Examples of Previous AwhiWorld Collaborations
Partnership, collaboration and reciprocity are core to AwhiWorld’s philosophy. The Awhi Incubator emerges out of a long line of projects that have partnership at the core.
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Future Fibres Seminars & Workshops
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