This
is the Laureate Artists academy's fourth year of intake, and
it now has 19 members.
The
awards are financed by the Arts Foundation Endowment Fund.
They
were worth $30,000, but have been given a $10,000 boost by a
Lottery Grants Board contribution and private donations.
"The
concept of a laureate means being active, doing something,"
said Aucklander Michael Hurst, who has a long history of
theatre production and achieved international fame for his
work on the TV series Hercules.
Hurst
said the money came with no strings attached, but "I'd say
most of us have already got the strings attached."
He
would use the money on a staging of Bertolt Brecht's
Threepenny Opera he was planning for next year.
Bornholdt,
who was last year's Katherine Mansfield Fellow, said the
money bought her a year of writing time.
"You
can't live as a poet in New Zealand so I do bits of paid
work, but this money changes my life."
Neil
Dawson lives in Christchurch, and has an international
profile from works which include a one for Stadium
Australia's main entrance for the Olympic Games.
He
regarded the award as "wonderful affirmation and support".
"I've
been on a rollercoaster ride over the past few years with
major projects like the Olympics and the Chalice in
Christchurch, so this money gives me the opportunity to come
up for some air.
"It
will give me the space to reflect on what I'm doing and how
I might deal with that from now on."
Psathas,
who teaches at Victoria University in Wellington, will use
the cash to make musical pilgrimages to southern India and
northern Africa.
"Getting
the endorsement within the country is just great," he said.
"Banal as it sounds, it's a confidence thing."
Humphrey
Ikin, who has a studio in Mt Eden and is regarded as being
at the forefront of New Zealand furniture design for the
past 20 years, said his plans for the award money were
simple.
"I
will upgrade the studio. There are so many things you put up
with for 20 or more years because you don't have the money.
"And
because so much of my work is tied up with commissions, I
try to make a point of working towards solo shows.
"It's
easier to find that time with money in the back pocket." |