Meet our Artist in Residence: Nela Fletcher

Hi Nela, tell us a little bit about you and your background.

The arts are a superpower I've always been drawn to. I am a trained dancer with fifteen years of experience working as a professional dancer, choreographer and performer in Switzerland. Subsequently, I completed a Master of Arts in Fine Arts. This shift made me realise that a big part of my knowledge from dance can be transferred and used differently. I am doing this with ink drawings and photography. My interest in transferable skills led me to initiate the Artist in Residence at COIN South. More about me and my work can be found on www.nelafletcher.com

What brought you to Southland?

I was born and grew up in Switzerland, having spent most of my time in Zurich. In 2003 I met this dancer, his name was Tim Fletcher. He was from New Zealand and seemed interesting. Lucky me, we got to dance together a lot and he was a great dance partner. The time went on, and we not only danced together but also choreographed, had our own dance company, lived together, got married, founded a family, created a lot of art, and just like that it was 2020. Wanting to give our children (and me) the experience of living in New Zealand, being close to the other half of our family and friends brought us to Invercargill, where Tim grew up.

We are very excited to have you join the team as our Artist in Residence at COIN South over the next coming weeks. How would you describe an Artist in Residence for people that haven’t heard of this before?

An Artist in Residence is a program where an artist is invited to work in a specific location for a certain period of time. The aim of this is to provide artists with the opportunity to focus on their work in a supportive environment and to engage with the community in which they are staying. Often the artist is given access to resources and materials that are not available in their normal working context. Contemporary Artists in Residence programs often collaborate with their hosts to focus on a particular subject. I am thrilled to take on this journey, which is a pilot for Southland, with COIN South as my host. Thanks at this point to Creative Communities Invercargill for their funding support.

 How do you see an artist in residency benefiting an organisation?

There are numerous ways an organisation can benefit: Diversifying Perspectives; an Artist in Residence can bring a fresh perspective, cognitive diversity and new ideas which can inspire employees and spark innovation. Public Engagement; the residency can help to connect with the public and create meaningful interactions with the community which bring positive attention. Collaboration; creating opportunities for cross-disciplinary collaboration with employees and other stakeholders, fostering a culture of creativity and innovation. Access; the artist’s specialised skills can help expand the organisation’s capabilities and learning opportunities.

What are you looking forward to experiencing during your time at COIN?

To set up my artist studio in an unusual environment, be inspired by learning new things and hopefully find hands-on ways art and art-thinking can contribute positively in an everyday work setting.

Will our community be able to see the outcomes of your work at the end? 

Towards the end of the residency (date to be confirmed) will be a showcase event where we share the outcomes and give insights into how it all panned out. As this residency is process driven, meaning the process defines direction and outcome, I find it important to make this process visible. If you pop into COIN South, come and say hello and I can show you what I’m working on.

In the meantime, the process, snippets, drafts and thoughts can be seen on COIN South’s social media outlet and my Instagram account @nelafletcher