After three years of disruption caused by COVID, Natasha Beckman's making up for lost time in 2023.

As Director of the British Council New Zealand and the Pacific since 2020, Beckman's role is that of a cultural matchmaker - she's in both the import and export business when it comes to growing this country's creative capabilities.

"It's really important to connect the UK with Aotearoa - even more so in a post-pandemic context where the tyranny of distance is exacerbated," Beckman passionately states. 

"That goes back to our kaupapa as a cultural relations organisation - we're building connections, understanding and trust. It's helping to facilitate those connections between people, even though geographically we might be distant."

And that means both bringing opportunity right to the doorstep of New Zealand creatives - and helping deliver them to opportunities on the other side of the globe.

Connections Through Culture

The latest example is the British Council's Connections Through Culture Grant programme - closing at midnight, 23 October - with grants of up to £5,000 ($10,225 NZD at time of publication) to bring to life projects that build new cultural collaborations between New Zealand and the UK.

This grant has been running in other regions around the globe - but is available in Aotearoa for the first time.

Beckman explains "It's a unique opportunity and at its core is a cultural exchange element, so I think anyone who's applying needs to think that through.

"Collaboration is also at its heart, and it has to have a UK and New Zealand link. Two strong themes which reflect our priorities are climate change and diversity - that's something that will be looked at as well."

Beckman underlines that the programme's scope makes it stand out.

"This grant looks at work at any stage of development and also spans across all art forms. Projects could be art residencies, exhibitions, performances and showcases, publications, webinars, conferences - it's a very broad opportunity.

"We really want to cast the net wide - wider than our current networks and see what's out there. We're quite excited about what may come in. 

"We've had a very large volume of inquiries already. We expect there to be strong competition for the grants with a limited budget available."

A year to remember

It's another highlight in what's been a big year of engaging with Aotearoa's creative community for Beckman and the British Council - concepts that she's been waiting to roll out after returning home from the UK just as COVID arrived and left an unwanted, indelible imprint on the cultural landscape. 

"It's amazing. I feel really blessed to finally be able to offer these opportunities, particularly to younger people but not exclusively. You never know what might get sparked from their learning, those conversations or the networks that they build. To have that privilege of being able to offer that is really the most rewarding thing about the job." 

That includes the recent British Council/Creative NZ delegation to the Edinburgh Festivals.

Beckman enthuses "In our debrief, those selected said that one of the best things was actually coming together as a group of artists - because even within NZ, everything's become quite isolated.

"Claire Mabey (VERB Wellington Founder and writer) who was a participant in our Momentum programme was saying how it was just so brilliant to reignite all her contacts because, like me, she hadn't been back since the pandemic. It's been wonderful.

 "Nothing substitutes for face-to-face relationships."

That's been highlighted by bringing elements of the UK to our shores to mentor and share knowledge with Aotearoa artists.

"A real moment for me was in February when we supported Songhub UK/Tāmaki Makaurau with APRA - we bought over UK songwriters to work with NZ songwriters and producers. The first person I met was Lapsley and she was probably quite taken aback by how emotional I felt to meet artists in person - after three years of it all being virtual - to actually have them here was so special."

The same can be said for bringing Booker Prize-winning author Bernardine Evaristo across for the Auckland Writers Festival and sharing advice on school visits, UK Poet Laureate Simon Armitage over to form a bond with NZ's own Poet Laureate Chris Tse and Artistic Director Emeritus of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Gregory Doran to town to see the Bard's work through a Kiwi lens and pass on his knowledge at "Shakespeare Gym” workshops for Auckland actors and ATC youth associates.

Beckman's driven to ensure that the relationship isn't lopsided - it's not only about representing  UK arts and culture in New Zealand, it's a two-way street. 

"Especially in the context of recognising that we work for a British organisation, there needs to be a lot of reciprocity, listening and idea sharing. 

"It's about brokering and connecting, about facilitating dialogue around some topics that might be difficult - climate change for example, decolonisation - just acting as a conduit.

"I've been very impressed with the quality of work since I have been away - particularly with Māori and Pacific artists. I also think that with the global crisis in many sectors including in the arts, there is a more receptive space for new voices to be heard. 

"We have recently supported two Māori artists and curators to undertake residencies and other capability-strengthening programmes in the UK and feedback from the sector there has been that they appreciate learning about ways to challenge traditional directions of galleries and museums. So I think Aotearoa brings a crucial voice to the table at this pivotal moment."

When asked what she has learned coming into a role at a time when her wings were clipped by COVID, Beckman was forthright.

"Resilience and acceptance of uncertainty. That's not unique, it's something I'm certain I share with many colleagues in the arts and the wider community, living in very different times. It's also kept me quite innovative because you couldn't work in the traditional ways in those years. 

I think the other thing is partnership. We had our funding severely restricted but we still had to fulfil our kaupapa as a cultural relations organisation by working with other partners. So we did." 

Beckman uses the example of the exhibition on climate change in the Pacific that the British Council has been touring with the British High Commission around museums, galleries, libraries, festivals and even in Parliament in Aotearoa for the past two and a half years called Trouble In Paradise, which has just closed at Tūhura Otago Museum in Dunedin and is just about to open at the Turner Centre in Kerikeri.

"Hopefully one of the positives that have come out of it is people collaborating more. It may have been out of necessity initially but it can lead to some fantastic results."
 

Written in partnership with British Council New Zealand and the Pacific. The Connections Through Culture Grant programme closes at midnight, 23 October 2023. Click here for more details.