The Australia Council has announced the latest recipients of residencies offered through the UKARIA Cultural Centre in the Adelaide Hills.

Australian clarinettist Aviva Endean will head to UKARIA in November to use her residency to explore further collaboration with cross-cultural ensemble The Cloud Maker.

The ensemble includes Maori multi-instrumentalist Te Kahureremoa Taumata and Korean vocalist Sunny Kim. The group met by chance in 2019 during their respective residencies in various programs at the Banff Centre in Canada. They will be joined by Australian musicians Judith Hamann (cello) and Maria Moles (drums).

The second artistic group is comprised of composer Wally Gunn and librettist Maria Zajkowski who will create their second major collaborative work at UKARIA in December.

This is the third consecutive year the residency has been offered thanks to a continuing partnership between the Australia Council and UKARIA, offered through the Australia Council’s co-investment program.

UKARIA CEO Alison Beare congratulated the recipients and said she looked forward to seeing the creative work produced as a result of the residencies.

“Giving artists the freedom to create, in nature, away from daily life is central to our vision. To see what flows from their time with us is often unexpected but always inspiring!”

Australia Council Head of Music Kirsty Rivers thanked UKARIA for providing an ideal location and support for artists to collaborate and develop new work.

“We are thrilled to be able to once again provide this residency for Australian musicians and composers that enables artistic groups to connect in an ideal setting for creativity and collaboration. This is a great example of the positive impact of opportunities made possible through our co-investment partnerships.”

The residency recipients will have exclusive access to UKARIA including the state-of-the-art auditorium and Twin Peaks accommodation facilities adjacent to the Mount Barker Summit, as well as financial support to assist with the development of their new works.

The residency program between the Australia Council and UKARIA is proudly supported by Ulrike Klein AO.

Media contact:

Brianna Roberts, Media Manager

Australia Council for the Arts

Phone: (02) 9215 9030

Mobile: 0498 123 541

Email: b.roberts@creative.gov.au

Recipient details

Wallace Gunn

Composer Wally Gunn and librettist Maria Zajkowski will create their second major collaborative work, a concert-length oratorio with dramatic staging. They will conduct a 10-day residency at UKARIA with vocal ensemble The Consort of Melbourne to develop the new work, commissioned by the Albert H Maggs Composition Award.

Gunn and Zajkowski are long-term collaborators and both queer artists, passionate about telling queer stories to contribute a perspective of ‘otherness’ vital to the diversity of the arts in Australia. They have developed a strong network of Australian and US collaborators, fostering international exchanges.

Each collaborator has a long track record for high-quality work. Gunn has delivered more than a dozen commissions, has won or been nominated for several awards, and has worked with some of the most highly-respected ensembles in the US, including Brooklyn Youth Chorus, Roomful of Teeth, and Sō Percussion. His work has received more than 150 performances there and is now sought out by Australian ensembles. For each of the participants, the project will solidify their reputations as established collaborators and as individual artists, both in Australia and the US.

Aviva Endean 

The Cloud Maker is a unique and powerful cross-cultural ensemble weaving together Maori, Korean and contemporary music and folklore. Clarinettist Aviva Endean (AU), Maori multi-instrumentalist Te Kahureremoa Taumata and Korean vocalist Sunny Kim met by chance in 2019 during their respective residencies in various programs at The Banff Centre in Canada. They connected over a story of the Maori moth goddess Raukatauri, which is also the creation story of the Putorino, one of the beautiful Maori wind instruments that Kahu plays. The musicians then explored interweaving Kahu’s knowledge of Tāonga Pūoro (Maori ‘singing treasures’ including nose flutes, bone flute, poi) with Aviva’s unique experimental approach to her instrumental practise (clarinets and winds) and Sunny’s evocative vocals, through spontaneously composed music. They performed as The Cloud Maker at The Banff Centre’s Rolston Recital hall to an enraptured audience.

The UKARIA residency will provide an opportunity for The Cloud Maker to delve deeper into this unique collaboration and to explore the enormous potential of their musical and cultural exchange. They will be joined by Australian musicians Judith Hamann (cello) and Maria Moles (drums). The residency will also facilitate Kahu’s first trip to Australia, supported by the Australian Art Orchestra (AAO). Aviva and Sunny are close collaborators of the AAO, with the former being its Associate Artist in 2018/19.

Learn more about our co-investment opportunities.