The Connections Through Culture grants programme nurtures fresh cultural partnerships between the Asia Pacific region and the UK. These grants support new ideas and collaborations from artists and cultural organisations, at any stage of development.

The grants supported in this round of the Connections Through Culture programme focus on two areas: diversity and inclusion and climate change. The collaborative efforts across borders and artistic disciplines will lead to ideas to address these global challenges.

The grants support new exchanges and collaborations and build long-term relationships between artists, cultural professionals, creative practitioners and arts and cultural organisations. 

2024 Grant Recipients: New Zealand

Destination Earth

UK: Cellule Studio Ltd

New Zealand:  Victoria University of Wellington

Destination Earth is a real-time immersive experience, enabling audiences to experience the connections that tie the atmosphere, human motions and ocean together. The artwork  uses interactive visuals and a responsive soundscape to invite audiences to dive into the complex dance of flows across oceans, ice cycles, and atmosphere. 

DYSPLA_Motion: Neurodivergent Physicality perceived through playful Animated Augmented Reality Sculpture

UK: DYSPLA

New Zealand: Dr Ruth Gibbons

With the support of the British Council and a collective of Neurodivergent artists from New Zealand and the United Kingdom, DYSPLA will create a series of 3D Augmented Reality (AR) Performative Digital Sculptures. Guided by Sensory Anthropologist Dr Ruth Gibbons and her innovative research, it addresses the stigma of the disabled body and interprets the concept of ‘Neurodivergent Physicality’.

 

Mangaian carving at the Maritime Museum: Toitoi a Mangaia ki Maritime Museum

UK: Royal Museums Greenwich

New Zealand: Robbie Atatoa

Mangaian carver, cultural expert, and educator Robbie Atatoa will join the National Maritime Museum to share his Mangaian passion and expertise with UK audiences. Through a residency organised to celebrate NMM’s new Ocean Court, Robbie will produce new carvings, contribute to public events, share his skills with members of Pacific diaspora communities, and improve cultural capacity and understanding with museum staff.

 

North to South: Stories, Songs and (Reclaimed) Voices to Save the Land

UK: Roseanne Watt

New Zealand: Auckland Writers Festival Waituhi o Tāmaki

This creative collaboration features Roseann Watt, a poet from Shetland, and a Te Moana-nui-a-kiwa artist based in Aotearoa, New Zealand. North to South will explore the themes of indigenous language revitalisation, navigation/homecomings, and how indigenous knowledge and language can fight against the climate crisis. The project culminates in a showcase at the Auckland Writers Festival Waituhi o Tāmaki 2025.

Oceana Archival Residency

UK: Hunterian Museum

New Zealand: Cora-Allan Lafaiki Twiss 

Oceana Archival Residency will enable artist Cora-Allan Lafaiki Twiss to develop her research on hiapo in museum collections by visiting organisations in Scotland that hold oceania taoga/taonga (cultural treasures). The project will focus on hiapo, taoga from Niue, and tapa from the Moana in the Hunterian Museum, National Museum of Scotland, Paisley Museum, Aberdeen Gallery and Museum, and Perth Museum.

Rising-Piki Ake

UK: Unity Theatre

New Zealand: Hawkes Bay Youth Theatre

Rising-Piki Ake is a cross-continental theatrical collaboration with young people from Unity Theatre, Liverpool, UK, and Hawkes Bay Youth Theatre, New Zealand. Their coastal locations and strong relationship with the water connect them. Using a ‘call and response’ between the groups, they will create work inspired by each other’s cultures, stories, and responses to the climate crisis.

The Long Song - Te Waiata Roa

UK: TRAC Wales

New Zealand: Matariki Cultural Foundation

The Long Song project celebrates the enduring storytelling traditions of Indigenous and local communities through music, focusing on cultural resilience and shared heritage. By collaborating with artists and knowledge holders at FOCUS Wales and the Knockengorroch Festival, the initiative aims to revive and sustain traditional songs while fostering cross-cultural exchange. 

There is No Place Like Home, Kia mau ki te tokanga nui-a-noho

UK: Artspace Lifespace

New Zealand: Dr. Tia Reihana

Artspace Lifespace will provide a collaborative space for contemporary dance practitioners, led by Dr. Tia Reihana, Diverse Arts Network, and Cleo Lake, to create a dance piece inspired by the urgency of the climate crisis. Choreography and workshops explore indigenous art practices and environmental narratives, raising awareness and inspiring action on sustainability.