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Renowned installation artist Maureen Lander will be the next Auckland Regional Council (ARC) Artist in Residence, based in the Waitakere Ranges Regional Park.

Ms Lander has been selected for the ARC’s annual Artist in Residence programme, which offers artists the chance to live and work in a regional park and develop artwork influenced by their surroundings.

Maureen Lander works with traditional natural materials, often plant based, but in a contemporary way and is best known for her delicate installations. She typically works on site-specific artworks with well researched historic references.

ARC Parks and Heritage Committee Chair Sandra Coney was part of the selection panel which, she says, was impressed with the calibre and variety of proposals put forward.

"We are privileged to have such a senior artist as Maureen as the latest Artist in Residence. This is a first in the Waitakere Ranges and we look forward to seeing how this rich area influences her work.

“This programme continues to attract highly talented and creative artists, offering the selection panel quite a challenge when it comes to awarding the residency,” she says.

Programme organiser Michelle Edge works with resident artists to familiarise them with the park and come up with ways of introducing their work to the public.

"We were looking for someone who was self sufficient, resourceful and adventurous who could immerse themselves in a regional park and bring out park stories through their art," she says.

“We hope to arrange some opportunities for the public to come and see Maureen while she’s working.

”Artwork generated as part of the Artist in Residence project will be exhibited at an exhibition at Lopdell House next summer and people will also have a chance to either see her work or hear Maureen speak about her work, at the Arataki Visitor Centre.

Ms Lander will move from her Auckland’s east coast community (she lives on the North Shore) to the west and will live in a house adjoining parkland from mid September to mid November 2010.