Meet our 2022 crew
Ordinarily we'd be laying out the snacks and pouring the rosé right about now but circumstances have forced us to move our 2022 Ockham Collective announcement online. In any case, we're incredibly pleased to introduce you to the very talented people who will be joining the Collective this year. Amongst their storied ranks are an author who has won Aotearoa's top fiction prize and a singer with three consecutive number-one singles under her belt.
At the OC, our annual residency programme is the heart and soul of what we do. Through it we provide direct support – in terms of teaching/rehearsal/work spaces, promotion and encouragement – to a select group working in the fields of creativity and education. This year they're a highly diverse bunch including three writers, two theatre professionals, a visual artist and six musicians.
Without further ado (drumroll please) here they are:
Steven Rapana – Steven (top left) is best known for his arrangements and compositions of Pacific choral music, which he has devised for many notable national choirs. He currently works as a singing teacher, choral director, language coach (phonology and languages for singers), professional singer, arranger and composer.
Paula Morris – Paula (top row, second from left) took out the fiction prize at the New Zealand Book Awards in 2012 with her wonderful novel Rangatira and the best first fiction prize in 2003 with Queen of Beauty. She currently convenes the Master of Creative Writing programme at the University of Auckland.
Gayatri Adi – Gayatri (top row, third from left) is a theatre producer and emerging playwright whose productions have been performed at the NZ International Comedy Festival, the Basement Theatre and the Auckland Fringe Festival.
Anita Arlov – Anita (top right) has had an association with the OC since shifting her long-standing Inside Out open-mic-for-writers nights to one of our spaces in 2020. A talented writer herself, Anita has a particular love for flash fiction, short stories and poetry.
Joella Pinto – Joella (middle left) is a sought-after violin teacher and performer who has played and toured with the NZSO, Canadian Opera Company, The Royal Conservatory Orchestra, Piper’s Sinfonia and Bach Musica, among many other ensembles. She is currently a member of the APO and the Arcus Quartet, which she co-founded.
Jasmine Tuiā – Jasmine (middle, second from left) has recently graduated from Elam as a Master of Fine Arts. Her work examines Pacific storytelling and indigenous Sāmoan narratives through the mediums of photography, moving image and tapa (siapo) making.
Vanessa Kelly – A talented singer and voice tutor who specialises in vocal health, Vanessa (middle, third from left) also offers mentoring for people embarking on a career in the music industry. That's something she knows a thing or two about having been one of the first Kiwi acts to sign to Universal Records (as part of Deep Obsession, whose first three singles all went to number one - a feat no other NZ artist has achieved).
Jules Older – Jules (middle row, right) is a writer and academic with a long and diverse CV which includes teaching at the universities of Otago and Vermont. He has published more than 25 children’s books, edited two ski magazines, and has been the ski blogger for the San Francisco Chronicle.
Eamon Edmundson-Wells – Eamon (bottom row, left) is a musician and sound artist, and a self-employed audio engineer working in the fields of live sound and broadcasting. He plays a mean double bass, including alongside Dave Khan and OC alumni David Ward in bluesy, folksy, country trio Shindig!
Daniel Fernandez – Actor and director Daniel (bottom row, third from left) is the co-founder and artistic director of Babel Theatre, and he also facilitates workshops for physical theatre, clowning and theatre-devising techniques. Alongside lots of theatre work, his acting roles have including Nickelodeon's Power Rangers Dino Fury and the BBC/TVNZ adaptation of The Luminaries.
Harpistina (Ina Yoon) – Ina (bottom row, right) is an accomplished harpist who has won prizes as a soloist in New York and Seoul, and plays professionally both as a soloist and with various ensembles (which have included the Auckland Philharmonia and Auckland Symphony).
For more information about any of our residents, click on their names.
