Creative ID: 531
My arts or creative practice (including details about my specific focus within that art form/practice and my strengths)
I work in a wide range of media as an artist (film, performance, sculpture, site specific installations, printmaking, drawing, sound, etc), curator, and arts writer. I often incorporate video into an architectural or sculptural environment. I worked for a decade (1999-2009) for Dutch Educational Broadcasting developing and making interactive resources for their television programmes for children and adults. For the Creatives in Schools projects I am focussing on facilitating the making of an animation or short film from concept to finish which includes script development, animation techniques and sound or music, using free software and materials that are easy for pupils to source. I would call myself a learner of te reo Māori and feel comfortable in te reo Māori environment. My interest here is in the development of bilingual fun stuff that can also serve as a resource. See my website and CV for animations and short films (available on request).
My track record of experience and success - or the track record of experience and success of the creative or artist that I will partner with
I have exhibited widely in Aotearoa and have a number of recent film or animation examples (full lists available on request).
I have a Diploma of Fine Arts (Otago) with a major in printmaking, a Dip. Teaching (secondary) from Dunedin Teachers College, a Masters Equivalent in Fine Arts (Maastricht, The Netherlands), and a Masters in Computer Science (Media Technology) from Leiden University, The Netherlands.
Describe the experience you have had working with children or young people, teaching or facilitating creative processes
I was based mainly in the Netherlands until 2017, and so my only recent experience in working with young people has been occasional help at a local kōhanga reo. In 1987-88 I was the sole art and art history teacher at a Dunedin college and intermediate school. I taught teens in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, occasionally at art camps (12 years and upwards), or as a volunteer stand-in schools (8-12 year olds) my sons attended because the Dutch educational system did not have a relief teacher system in place.
For the week long art academies (camps) I taught drawing, making collages/installations and performance art. In the schools I taught English to pupils who did not know any English. I worked for the Dutch educational broadcasting Teleac/NOT as an interactive designer where most of the games and websites I developed and often made were aimed for ages 8-18 years.
Why I want to be part of the Creatives in Schools programme and how my involvement will link to my creative practice
I enjoy teaching by presenting challenges (assignments) that others solve and surprise me with their solutions. I would like Aotearoa to be a more bilingual place and this desire is an important part of my own creative practice. Often my own art projects are bilingual. So I hope to learn to think more bilingually in working with pupils on a bilingual project and also hope to help pupils who might only speak English to be less afraid of being involved in a bilingual project.