2026 Artist in Residence
New Zealand Glassworks Te Whare Tūhua o Te Ao (NZG), with the support of Creative New Zealand, is pleased to announce that the 2026 Artist in Residence programme is open for applications.
New Zealand Glassworks is the national centre for glass. NZG’s vision is to be the hub of glass practice in New Zealand and be renowned as a centre for innovation and glass excellence. We are New Zealand’s leading place for the community to access and experience all aspects of glass, to inspire and encourage glass artists and advocate for a sustainable sector.
NZG is committed to encouraging and supporting artistic exploration and providing an environment which will foster and encourage creative, original works in glass. In 2026 we look forward to offering one professional artist working in glass a 4-week residency at New Zealand Glassworks, Whanganui.
Key dates:
Applications open: 15 September 2025
Deadline for submissions: 1pm 17 October 2025
Applicants notified: 3 November 2025
Residency period: 6 July – 2 August 2026
Solo exhibition: 6-week block between February - April 2027
For all enquiries please email info@nzglassworks.com or phone us at 06 927 6803
Full programme details and application form can be found here
To apply for the 2026 Artist in Residence programme, please complete the application form and send along with all supporting documents to:
Madeline Prowd
NZG Manager
madeline@nzglassworks.com
2 Rutland St
Whanganui 4500
Greg Donson – Senior Curator & Programmes Manager, Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery
Greg Donson is Senior Curator & Programmes Manager at Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery, where he is responsible for the development and
implementation of the exhibition programme, including publications.
The gallery’s successful artist-in-residence programme has seen him work with close to fifty artists. Currently the Sarjeant are showing the major survey exhibition Joanna Margaret Paul: Imagined in the context of a room which
Greg co-curated with Lucy Hammonds and Lauren Gutsell of the Dunedin Public Art Gallery and was accompanied by a large publication and tour of the exhibition.
During his time at the gallery he has been a champion of glass practice in Aotearoa. In 2009 he co-curated the exhibition Looking glass reflecting ideas: 21 NZ Glass Artists, with Grace Cochrane; in 2011 Crystal Chain Gang: Fancy Fools Flight and in 2017 the major survey exhibition Common Ground by Wendy Fairclough.
Donson will be a panellist for the AiR appointment
Eloise Kitson - Co-Director, Masterworks Gallery
Eloise Kitson is Co-Director of Masterworks Gallery, alongside her mother, Christine Hedlund.
Kitson has worked in the arts for over twenty years, with the majority at
Masterworks. She is a strong advocate and supporter of the arts with a
particular focus on the object/craft/decorative arts sector.
Kitson has a strong appreciation of making, growing up around knitting, weaving, sewing and many other textile arts. Her childhood in Hong Kong with creative parents instilled a strong belief in the importance of material culture.
Kitson has a Masters in Art History from the University of Auckland and as the sixth generation to call Aotearoa home, proudly identifies as Tangata Tiriti.
Kitson will be a panellist for the AiR appointment
Emma Camden - Artist
Emma Camden is a full time Glass Artist residing in Whanganui, NZ. Working exclusively with cast glass, Camden has received a high level of critical acclaim for her work. Camden is known for pushing the boundaries of the medium and breaking new ground in the area of large-scale casting.
Camden has been widely recognised for her expertise with major national and
international awards. She was the first New Zealand artist to win the prestigious RFC Glass Prize (now Ranamok), AUS.
Originally from Portsmouth, England, Camden studied glass at the University of Sunderland where she gained a BA(hons) before immigrating to
New Zealand in ‘91.
Her work is held in private and public collections worldwide, including Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery, Whanganui, the Auckland Museum, Auckland and the Glass Museum Ebeltoft, Denmark.
Camden is a panellist for the AiR appointment
