7 December 2021
Two local emerging artists have received inaugural gifts from The Bushman’s Son Fund managed by the Geyser Community Foundation.
Geyser’s executive officer, Annette Burgess said well-known local artist, Terry Fergusson established his endowment fund in 2017 to support emerging artists and writers within the Rotorua District.
“We were proud to have been chosen by Terry to manage his fund, which is wide-ranging. Applicants can study, engage with or participate in visual or written arts, such as drawing, painting, photography, sculpture, graphics, architecture, writing and poetry.
This year Terry chose two local artists, Joshua Brake and Kaeleb Kereopa-Ngatai to receive the inaugural awards, each of which have a value of $1,000.
Joshua is very passionate about photography and has been taking photos since the age of three. Recently he has been playing with light and shutter speed to improve his images, often mixing that with portraits and landscapes.
Kaeleb is into pottery. He really enjoys the process and the transformation, and hopes to one day become a successful ceramic artist.
A total of six applications were received this year.
Passionate about the arts, Terry Fergusson knows only too well how hard it can be to get an arts project off the ground.
“There’s not a lot of support out there for amateur artists, and it can be very difficult to find extra money to pay for things like materials, promotion and advertising”, he said.
“As the son of a ‘bushman’ and his wife, I set up this fund in my parent’s name which keeps it flourishing and very close to my heart. Their image adorns all the media surrounding it which is powerful and humbling all at the same time.
‘It’s fantastic to see the fund grow, especially now it is being used to help out local artists.
“The team at the Geyser Community Foundation has been awesome in its management and support on all levels.”
What is a Community Foundation?
Community Foundations provide a smarter way to give to the community you love. We can invest and grow your donations so the interest they earn can benefit your chosen local causes’ year on year, forever.
We’re different because we’re not about one single cause; we’re about a place and its people. Through us you can choose which significant local projects and causes to invest in to help transform our community.
