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Tauranga artist Debbie Tipuna has been selected out of hundreds of nationwide and 27 shortlisted artists as the inaugural recipient of the Tautoko Maori Foundation – Basilicata, 3 month art residency in Italy. Debbie says “it’s quite humbling because I know some of the other artists that were shortlisted are amazing.”

ARTE ITALIA noted that “It was a hard choice; so many splendid candidates and in no way was the choice dependent solely on their art.”

Debbie recently quit her job as a children’s librarian at the Te Puke Library to pursue her art practice full time whilst also relocating to Tauranga with husband Eric after purchasing their family homestead. This art residency came out of the blue when Debbie saw it advertised on The Big Idea website which acts as a platform for creative industries and she applied only a week before it closed, noting that ‘it’s all fallen into place” with husband Eric, who has family ties to Italy, putting his job on hold for three months to accompany Debbie to Italy.

After completing her studies at Waiariki Polytech in the 1980’s Debbie has continued to develop her practice while raising a family and now as an established artist has a number of awards to her credit including being a finalist in the 2015 Rotorua Museum Art awards and having her artwork featured on the front cover of the local Bay of Plenty household phone directory.

Working across a range of mediums as a mixed media artist Debbie is working on a collaborative picture book for children and hopes to take the finished product to Italy. Debbie wants to use this opportunity to upskill and to experiment with lots of different media saying “I’m looking forward to what another culture does to your head.” She would also love to visit local schools and connect with the kids there due to her background as a children’s librarian and illustrator.

Debbie’s Italian hosts have planned a number of local community events in preparation for her arrival in April.