Six artists win Commonwealth Connections International Arts Residencies

A former child soldier turned self-taught sculptor from Uganda is one of six artists to have won the Commonwealth Foundation’s 2010 Commonwealth Connections International Arts Residencies.

Drawn from 170 applications from across the Commonwealth, each of the winning artists will now receive £8,000 to spend time living and working in another Commonwealth country, working alongside artists in a two-way cultural exchange. For many of the winners, the residencies represent the first time they are able to consolidate burgeoning domestic success to build an international reputation.

Peter Paul Oloya became a child soldier in Uganda after he was abducted from his home at the age of 11. After teaching himself to sculpt, he now promotes art as a catalyst for social change and a solution to community problems. He will use his prize money to work with different communities in Nigeria to help promote a culture of peace, non violence and co-existence.

British artist Emma Smith is planning a residency in Kenya, using her inter-disciplinary and collaborative work, which includes events, encounters, performance, participation and photography, to explore the art of the everyday, working collaboratively with Kenyan artists and the local community.

She said: “This award offers a unique and amazing opportunity for me to develop new work in Kenya, a country I have wanted to visit for a long time. During my residency I wish to explore ideas around travel and connectivity, journey and pace, looking in particular at the relationship between nomadicism and internationalism. I am really excited about the potential to work alongside artists in Kenya and to develop new collaborations.”

Marlon Griffith, from Trinidad and Tobago, is an artist who connects visual art with the public performance based on Trinidad Carnival, fusing together the cultural, spiritual and political. During his residency in The Bahamas he plans to create work with communities on the outskirts of Nassau as part of the local performing visual tradition of Junkanoo.

Pakistani painter Irfan Hasan, a graduate in the art of miniature painting, fuses his strong skills with original ideas to create contemporary paintings which are part social commentary, part philosophical enquiry. His intention is to base himself at the Bengal School of Arts in Kolkata, India, to explore other media, and to work with well-known contemporary and traditional Indian artists.

He said: “I have a plan to collaborate with other local artists and craftsmen. I will live with them to understand their working methodology and philosophy. It will be an adventure.”

Yasmin Jahan Nupur from Bangladesh produces works which are a combination of photography, painting, video and performance installation. She is planning to visit Mauritius and work with local artists to encourage dialogue around social issues, including gender and religious co-operation.

Australian artist Krishna Nahow-Ryall, whose ancestors came from Vanuatu, works in a wide range of media including sculpture, installation, digital media and photography. She often creates site-specific works that fuse Pacific patterns with western motif. She will return to Vanuatu to connect with her heritage, engage with local artists and bring back elements of traditional cultures to pass on to younger Australian South Sea Islanders.

Nine judges from South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Trindad and Tobago, the United Kingdom and Australia were involved in selecting the winning artists.

2009 winner, Amarachi Okafor, is an installation artist from Nigeria. Her residency in The Bahamas culminated in a major collaborative project with Bahamian fashion designers and visual artists.

Okafor describes the exhibition, I am Bahamian, I eat conch salad, as “an art experience for everyone, rather than a simple exhibition of work that is solely mine.”

She said: “I am excited to think that I worked with up to 30 people in making this particular project and I managed to produce a show for the first time in my career.”

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