This is your chance to see what this year's artists will bring to Rotorua's scene. There will be a small presentation by each artist, then it'll be your chance to chat to learn more about their craft and what you can expect to see over the summer.

This year's artists are: Akoni Pakinga, Kahurangi Dewes-Green and Sean Rivera.

Akoni Pakinga is a Rotorua-based digital artist, who has previously been interviewed on the Arts Village People podcast. Akoni's art has a cartoon-style, influenced by his childhood watching Saturday morning TV. His project, What If..., will focus on an alternate Aotearoa - what would life be like here without European colonisation?

Kahurangi Dewes-Green is our youngest ever Resident Artist at just 17 years old. She is still a pupil at Rotorua Lakes High School and wants to focus on developing her understanding of Māori art. Each week, she will focus on a different aspect of mahi toi, working with the community to develop her own craft and others'.

Sean Dioneda Rivera is a Filipino-Pakeha New Zealander from Tokoroa, a fact intrinsically linked to his work. A recent graduate of Toi Whakaari, Sean will develop (W)asian, a piece about being that ethnically ambiguous, lost, annoying mixed kid in a small town, with a huge dose of humour and satire mixed in.

Our thanks to the funders of the Residency, Creative Communities Scheme and Rotorua Trust.

This event will be a Vaccine Pass-only event and limited to 100 people. Thank you for respecting our staff as we maintain Government restrictions and do our best to keep every member of the Arts Village whānau safe. Keep an eye out for other ways to engage safely online in some of our upcoming events, and get in touch with our team if you have any ideas for new ways to do this. Together we can make awesome stuff happen in our community.