Frances Hodgkins Fellowship

The Frances Hodgkins Fellowship, established in 1962, is one of New Zealand's premier arts residencies. The list of past fellows includes many of New Zealand's most notable artists.

Purpose

The position is based at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand, and is awarded annually, providing studio space and stipend equivalent to a lecturer's salary. The fellowship was created to encourage painters and sculptors in the practice and advancement of their art, to associate them with life in the University, and at the same time to foster an interest in the arts within the University. The award came about through efforts by Charles Brasch.^[1] When it was created, it was the only fellowship for the visual arts in New Zealand.^[1] The Frances Hodgkins Fellowship is named after the New Zealand painter Frances Hodgkins (1869–1947) who was born in Dunedin.^[2]

Significance

New Zealand writer David Eggleton described the fellowship as 'an emblem of cultural endeavour which … holds a legendary status in the public imagination'.^[3] The alumni are described as a "who's who of the New Zealand art world".^[4] David Bell, the committee convenor in 2017, said "The fellowship has been – and remains – the most prestigious residential award in visual arts practice in New Zealand and, beyond its enrichment of our own local arts scene and the refreshing cycles of change through each year's appointments, the cumulative effect of the residency has been to secure the careers of two generations of professional artists in this country.".^[5]

50th anniversary

In 2017 Otago University Press published a book by Priscilla Pitts and Andrea Hotere to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the fellowship, and held a commemorative exhibition simultaneously at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery and the Hocken Library.^[3]^[1] The cover of the book features Adam and Eve by Michael Illingworth.^[1] Illingworth had become notorious after a controversy the previous year over an Auckland gallery displaying Adam and Eve, which clearly shows the subjects' genitalia. The police ordered the painting's removal but the gallery refused and the district attorney declined to prosecute. Illingworth's selection as the first of the Frances Hodgkins Fellows "reiterated that...the visual arts were an important form of communication founded upon the knowledge of professionals, not the criticisms and opinions of the general public."^[1] The exhibition book, UNDREAMED OF...50 Years of the Frances Hodgkins Fellowship has been described as "a fantastic introduction to some pivotal NZ artists".^[6] The title is part of a quote from Frances Hodgkins, who wrote the support for the artist was capable of 'yielding up riches – undreamed of'.^[3]