The seven winners of the 2011 Commonwealth Connections international arts residencies are as follows:
Ruth Feukoua
Installation art, Cameroon
A pioneering artist in her native Cameroon and the first winner from the Cameroon, Ruth is an installation and performance artist, whose practice revolves around issues related to the ecology and environment. An activist, whose work is to ‘educate consciences’, Ruth proposes to undertake a specific project, ‘Getting to Green’, in Canada. This will merge seeds from Cameroon and Canada in a striking art project promoting nature and the environment.
Olaniyi Rasheed Akindiya (Akirash)
Installation art, Nigeria
Described as ‘one of the most progressive, dedicated and innovative artists of his generation in West Africa’ (Carol Padberg, Hartford Arts School, USA), Nigerian-born, Ghana-based Akirash produces mixed media installations bringing disparate objects together in intriguing ways. His work is daring, original and informed by both the world and global contemporary art practices, whilst remaining true to his West African identity. Akirash’s aim on his residency is to work in new media and technology as well as immerse himself in Zulu and Ndebele culture in Southern Africa.
Pradeep Thalawatta
Installation art, Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan cutting edge artist Pradeep Thalawatta marries technical expertise with innovative experimentation to produce sculptural installations, lately incorporating digital video, focusing on issues of social strata and human relationships. A dedicated and committed artist, he is a visiting lecturer at the University of Jaffna and works on community projects with Colombo-based Theerta International Arts Collective amalgamating art, archaeology and heritage management. Pradeep intends to work on a new urban project in Bangalore, India, with 1 Shanthi Road, an artist-led initiative running an alternative public space in the heart of the city, hosting visiting international artists and exhibitions.
Rodell Warner
Photography, Trinidad and Tobago
A photographer and graphic designer who works in Trinidad and Tobago, Rodell Warner’s photographs range from images of community-based environmental protection and enhancement programme workers to an exploration between public and private spaces. Filled with energy, creativity and excitement, Rodell’s photographs provide a specific take on memory and experience.
Often working collaboratively, Rodell also creates and executes his own projects, consistently exploring and presenting new conversations about the ways we see ourselves. He plans to travel to South Africa to work alongside the South African photographer Pieter Hugo, as well as engage with the wider artistic community in South Africa.
Emma Wolukau-Wanambwa
Installation art, United Kingdom
A graduate from the Slade School of Fine Art in London with an MA in Fine Art, Emma Wolukau-Wanambwa’s work is highly original and engaging. Her outstanding grasp of conceptual practice is augmented by technical knowledge. She works with a range of media to explore the stories that we tell ourselves about the world and about one another – looking particularly at representations of the past, and of people, places and events considered ‘distant’.
Emma is intending to explore issues of land and land ownership within Uganda and how this is changing, working with artists and filmmakers as well as screening artist’s films and documentaries and discussions. She wishes to work with moving image and sound and aims to contribute to development discourse within the UK arts community and beyond.
Meralda Warren
Painting, Pitcairn Islands
The first winner from the Pitcairn Islands, Meralda Warren is an innovative and creative artist and teacher. She is leading the rediscovery of the art of tapa making on Pitcairn, teaching children and others to carry on the tradition which died out seventy years ago. With the children of Pitcairn she has written a book, ‘Mi Base side orn Pitcairn’, the first book to be written in Pitkern as well as English.
Working in isolation on Pitcairn, Meralda wishes to use the residency to connect with artists and tapa makers from around the Pacific, based in New Zealand, and to engage with artists who use tapa in their art practice. She hopes this will enrich her ability to pass on knowledge and new techniques to the next generation of Pitcairn Islanders and install pride in their heritage.
Neila Ann Ebanks
Dance, Jamaica
A dancer, choreographer and teacher, Neila-Ann Ebanks works across different forms of dance, including modern, contemporary, jazz and folk. Her strong performance skills are matched with creative thinking and innovative use of method, style and original conceptualisation, her work all the time being rooted in her Jamaican ancestry. Improvisation, site-specific and theatre work, are all part of her dance experience.
Committed to developing dance in Jamaica during her residency in Canada, Neila-Ann wishes to explore the use of video, using performing bodies with filmed projections. She will work specifically alongside four diverse Canadian artists in the arena of dance and theatre to enrich and expand the dance scene in Jamaica on her return.