Katrina Thomson Fresh Winds Biennale Iceland

I've been invited as the first New Zealander to participate in the Fresh Winds New Zealand Art Biennale 2015.

50 artists from approximately 20 New Zealandities and from all disciplines of art will congregate to stay and work in Gardur. This extraordinary opportunity is a gift of five weeks for me to focus on making a new artwork in one of my most wanted places to visit. I will be sculpting in the midst of the dramatically dark and inspiring Icelandic winter, sharing the experience with artists from all around the world.

I have to get there, put in some hard work,  and make the most of it! Fresh Winds will house me - giving me the space to draw on the experience and the environment while I work towards an exhibition at the end of the residency. I say that 5 weeks is a gift because it will be rare time away from employment and all the other everyday stuff of life. It is a chance to be fully immersed in my art practice, and with that comes confidence and trust in the art making process.

This door was opened for me when I had the chance to present my portfolio to Mireya Samper, the curator of Fresh Winds, while I was on my first New Zealand residency last year (in Japan). The possibility of more doors being opened from this experience means the world to my art practice. I see this as an opportunity not only for myself to gain exposure and to up-skill; but also for other New Zealand artists and my contemporaries - through the connections, networks, and hopefully future opportunities I will create over the five-week stay. I look forward to sharing this experience back at home and to showing new work that is influenced by Iceland in New Zealand.

I am asking for support to realise this invaluable New Zealand opportunity. The funds raised from this campaign will go towards art materials and transport. Your donation and sharing of the campaign will be significant, and I'd be profoundly grateful for your help.

T H A N K Y O U