Two talented Territory artists have been chosen for the 2017 Asialink Residency Program.

“I congratulate this year’s NT recipients, Mary Anne Butler and Dan Davies, who have been selected for the Asialink Residency Program as part of Arts NT’s partnership with Asialink,” said Director of Arts NT Angela Hill.

“This is a significant development opportunity for two talented local artists to create new work, build arts and cultural partnerships and raise the profile of the Northern Territory internationally through the arts.”

Recipients of the 2017 program include:

·         Mary Anne Butler, who will be conducting an arts residency in India at the University of Madras in Chennai. An award winning Darwin based playwright, Ms Butler will work on a memoir based on her childhood interactions with Suni; an Indian national employed by her family in Sri Lanka. Her work, The Red Suitcase will be an exploration of innocence, great loss, resilience and survival.

·         Dan Davies will be conducting an arts residency in Cambodia at Kampot Arts and Music Association (KAMA). A Darwin based musician, Mr Davies will spend three months at KAMA as the resident bassist and in-house music producer. Through KAMA, Mr Davies will pursue further collaborations with Cambodian artists looking to record and perform locally and abroad.

“The Territory Government is working to increase visitation from India to the Northern Territory so supporting an arts residency at the University of Madras in Chennai is a fantastic opportunity for our countries to work together to increase cultural networks, relationships and understanding of our vibrant arts and culture,” said Ms Hill.

Asialink is Australia's national organisation promoting cultural understanding, information exchange and artistic endeavour between Australia and Asia.

The Northern Territory Government has partnered in the Asialink Residency Program since 2000 and over the past seventeen years, has provided funding to support 30 arts residencies in Asia for Northern Territory arts professionals.

Partnering with Asialink has increased showcasing and professional development opportunities for Territory artists and arts professionals at an international level and strengthened the Territory’s engagement with Asia for the art sector.

Arts NT supports this program at $30,000 per year under a triennial agreement from 2017-19.

Previous recipient Natalie Sprite, recently completed a three month Asialink Arts residency in Bali, and published a short story of her stay here: http://asialink.unimelb.edu.au/stories/rain-is-different-on-a-moped

Territory artists:

o   Mary Anne Butler – India: University of Madras in Chennai (0409 767 075) maryannebutler@bigpond.com

o   Dan Davies – Cambodia: Kampot Arts and Music Association (KAMA) (0405 170 529) dandavies@bigpond.com

Media contact: Department of Tourism and Culture | Media Manager 0428 052 647