New Zealand Pacific Studio invites applications for the three week 2017 Ema Saiko Poetry Fellowship.
This opportunity is made possible with the generous sponsorship from individual members of the arts community.
The purpose of this Ema Saiko Poetry Fellowship is to encourage the writing of poetry and, in turn, to honour the Japanese poet and painter Ema Saiko (1787-1861). Writing at a time when it was unusual for women to be included in the rarefied circles of male poets writing in Chinese, Ema Saiko dedicated herself to, and developed, a poetic form centred on the discovery and unfolding of a rich intellectual and artistic life connected to her physical environment. Saiko was acutely attuned to the daily and seasonal transformations of the natural world.
NZPS welcomes applications from both female and male poets of all cultures – poets who seek a sustained focus on their writing. Applicants can be working in any way and do not have to relate to Ema Saiko in terms of style or content.
Fellow would work in the garden-facing writing studio (pictured), the Saiko Room, with French doors, an open fire, and a large desk.
As part of the supported residency, the Fellow is encouraged to offer an activity for the community, such as a reading, workshop, or lecture. Selection will be based on the nature and strength of an applicant’s proposed project and the degree to which both the Fellow and the local community will benefit from it, although the focus remains on supporting the poet in the serious creation of their work. Applicants can be at any stage in their creative ‘careers.’
Previous Ema Saiko Fellows include: Ya-wen Ho, Alan Jefferies,Yukari Nikawa, and Janis Freegard.
Please e-mail NZPS with the following in ONE DOCUMENT (eg Word or PDF) – please keep the file size under 2mb:
1. Your biography.
2. A description of your proposed project, its objectives and inspirations, why it is important to you, and any specific requirements you may have.
3. When you would like to be in residence (up to 31 December 2017). Dates of residency are open to negotiation. If your project requires you to be in residence at a specific time, please make this clear in your application.
4. A statement of how the Ema Saiko Poetry Fellowship would benefit you and extend your practice at this time.
5. A sample of your work (no more than 6 poems / 1,000 words).
6. The contact details of two Referees whom we will contact if you are shortlisted.
Applications close midnight 31 January 2017, NZ time. Apply by e-mail to Community Programme Manager, NZ Pacific Studio, info@artistresidency.org.nz.