Springboard Award

16 artists – each ready to take the plunge into a full-time arts career – with outstanding potential across a diverse range of arts disciplines. Along with a $15,000 gift, each recipient has been matched (with cupid-like consideration!) to a senior artist mentor from the Arts Foundation artist alumni and beyond. Mentors will also receive a $5,000 koha for their time.

The Arts Foundation Springboard packages are 100% funded through personal giving. Huge thanks to these generous arts backers who have made our 2026 Springboard Awards possible:

Dr Fiona Pardington & Starkwhite, Ensemble Ltd, Hummingbird Coffee, Jamie & Ann Selkirk, Julian & Lizanne Knights, Joy Shivas, Marko & Jennifer Bogoievski, Edgar Family Foundation, Kate Gray Memorial Trust, Wendell Property, and the generous donors from our Supernova Crowdfunding campaign.

Meet your 2026 Springboard duos:

A.J Manaaki Hope (Visual Arts) mentored by 2021 Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi Laureate Brett Graham 
Receiving the Springboard Award for Visual Arts gifted the Kate Gray Memorial Trust

“A.J has shown a strong commitment to professional growth through exhibiting, formal learning, personal haerenga and community building. His recent exhibition Daffodils for Taua featured sophisticated unstretched paintings with whakairo and cast sculptural elements that playfully hung in space. He has been awarded the Springboard Award in recognition of this highly successful exhibition and the momentum mentorship could offer at this significant moment in his career.” – Springboard Selection Panel

Learn more about A.J 

Erika Holm (Sculpture) mentored by 2005 Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi Laureate Ronnie van Hout
Receiving the Springboard Award for Visual Arts gifted by Dr Fiona Pardington & Starkwhite
 
“Erika works predominantly in sculpture, exploring references to the body, whether directly utilising figuration or working with forms with a strong bodily resonance. She takes a deep dive into historical sculptural legacies (including the ecclesiastical and classical) which, combined with an exquisitely skilled manipulation of materials, result in uncanny, vulnerable and moving works. This Springboard award recognises extraordinary works to date.” – Springboard Selection Panel

Learn more about Erika

Flora Feltham (Literature) mentored by 2011 Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi Laureate Emily Perkins
Receiving the Springboard Award for Visual Arts gifted by the Edgar Family Foundation

“Flora's Bad Archive was a dream debut, a book of essays at once personal, and eccentric, that let readers in on the behind-scenes working life of a young archivist who finds a dried flower pressed between the pages of a nineteenth century diary. Feltham is a deft writer with true range, able to ‘keep the scraps of the past from the bin of today.” This collection hit a nerve with readers, provoking strong emotional and intellectual responses. We’re all bad archivists, dipping into the ephemera of the past, to make sense of today. Feltham is an author to watch.” – Springboard Selection Panel

Learn more about Flora

Isabella Loudon (Visual Arts) mentored by 2016 Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi Laureate Peter Robinson
Receiving the Springboard Award for Visual Arts gifted by the Edgar Family Foundation

“Isabella has consistently pushed the limits of her materials and shown in group and solo exhibition contexts. Her ambition, tenacity, work ethic, and compelling sculptural works, as evidenced by her exhibition of site-specific installation works in December 2023, two years | one building in a derelict building in Tūtaenui Marton, has earned her the Springboard Award.” – Springboard Selection Panel

Learn more about Isabella

Isla Huia (Literature) mentored by 2024 Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellow Selina Tusitala Marsh
Receiving the Springboard Award gifted by Supernova Boosted Donors 
 
“Isla is a rare talent—a poet, musician and te reo Māori teacher who is a captivating live performer of her work. Her mesmerising poetry debut Talia is a tribute and tohu to her friend – the artist Natalia Saegusa—who passed away tragically young. Huia’s voice on the page is dexterous, authoritative, funny, wise, and winding. Her poems always convince. Karakia is a case in point, this prose poem builds in intensity, each sentence beginning with ‘I want...” It’s a poem for Aotearoa now. Huia has enormous potential; this is just the beginning.” – Springboard Selection Panel

Learn more about Isla 

Isla Mcleod (Director – Mixed Medium) mentored by 2025 Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi Laureate Roseanne Liang
Receiving the Springboard Award gifted by Supernova Boosted Donors 
  
“Isla has been turning heads as an emerging theatre director.  With a background in film and television, Isla has quickly developed a strong and self-determined voice.  Dedicated and insightful, approaching her craft with both an intellectual and somatic approach - Isla has the potential to have a significant and impacting career as a New Zealand director.” – Springboard Selection Panel

Learn more about Isla

Jaime Jenkins (Sculpture) mentored by 2025 Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi Laureate Kate Newby
Receiving the Springboard Award gifted by Wendell Property
 
“Jaime has established a strong presence as an innovative ceramicist. Her hand-built stoneware traverses the boundary between studio ceramic and sculptural traditions, balancing both histories and carrying these forward into contemporary moments in a unique and distinctive way. This approach has earned recognition through significant awards and exhibitions including the 2022 Dame Doreen’s Gift from the Blumhardt Foundation, which acknowledged Jenkins as a key voice in an emerging generation of craft practitioners. This Springboard Award builds on this success, recognising an artist who is pushing boundaries and shining a light on contemporary ceramics in Aotearoa New Zealand.” – Springboard Selection Panel

Learn more about Jaime

Jess Chambers (Music) mentored by 2001 Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi Laureate Dame Gaylene Preston DNZM
Receiving the Springboard Award for Music gifted by Ensemble Ltd

“Jess' Springboard Award recognises the exceptional quality of her work, the boldness of her sonic experimentation, and the exciting evolution of her practice as she shifts from the intimacy of songwriting into electronic music and film scoring. Jess’s artistry, and the musical skills underpinning it, show deep commitment to her craft and an assured trajectory for artistic development. As she moves to break new ground in historically male-dominated fields, Jess will both grow as an artist and light the way for the next generation of creators.” – Springboard Selection Panel

Learn more about Jess

Lyncia Muller (Dance) mentored by 2019 Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi Laureate Sima Urale
Receiving the Springboard Award for Dance gifted by Julian & Lizanne Knights
 
“Through her commanding performance presence, innovative artistry and strong physique, it is a pleasure to announce Lyncia as the 2026 Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi Springboard recipient in dance. With a strong fusion of contemporary dance, her Tongan heritage and the dynamic ballroom scene, Lyncia is paving a unique way for herself, and for other Pasifika women to follow in her footsteps. Wishing her all the success on her future journey." – Springboard Selection Panel

Learn more about Lyncia

Mia Maramara (Film) mentored by Kristina Ceyton and Samantha Jennings
Receiving the Springboard Award for Film gifted by Jamie & Ann Selkirk

“Mia is a promising writer, director and producer with a growing track record in genre-based filmmaking. She demonstrates keen storytelling instincts, and has a collaborative approach that elevates her work and the projects she undertakes.” – Springboard Selection Panel

Learn more about Mia

Scarlett Robinson-Kean (Ilustration) mentored by 2023 Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi Laureate Giselle Clarkson
Receiving the Springboard Award gifted by Joy Shivas
 
"Scarlett is an illustrator recently graduated with a Masters in Creative Practice from Unitec. Her Master’s work, a 240pp graphic novel To seed, To Sprout, To Seed won a bronze at the 2025 Best Design Awards for Student and Academic Graphics. It hosts riveting storylines where human and non-human entities share the depicted world, and speaks to the joyousness of childhood, and the importance of retaining glimmers of this magical energy as we grow. This, and other pieces by Scarlett, look incredible - the drawings and narrative sequencing are delightful and engaging, even when addressing gnarly lived experiences (e.g. Whiplash - the story of a family’s rocky race against cancer, which won Best Zine at Auckland Zine Fest). Scarlett has been awarded this Springboard for her exemplary illustration mahi to date, and in recognition of her contribution to mentoring and supporting peers in the illustration and Zine space.” – Springboard Selection Panel.

Learn more about Scarlett

Sean Dioneda Rivera (Theatre) mentored by Sophie Roberts
Receiving the Springboard Award gifted by Supernova Boosted Donors

“Sean is a prolific theatre maker, performer, and director. His deep levels of curiosity, imagination and creative agility have contributed to some memorable moments on stage. Sean pursues meaningful art, uplifting diverse voices and perspectives, and creating electric performances. A Springboard award provides a perfect space for his curiosity and craft to be nurtured and propel him to new areas of discovery.” – Springboard Selection Panel

Learn more about Sean

Sefa Tunupopo (Dance) mentored by 2011 Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi Laureate Lemi Ponifasio
Receiving the Springboard Award for Dance gifted by Marko & Jen Bogoievski

“A young dance artist who has founded an organisation in Wellington that assists youth with dance and movement abilities, Sefa is a force that lingers in one's memory. A dynamic performer and choreographer, Sefa fuses his love and knowledge of contemporary dance, hip hop, breakdance and Pasifika styles into a unique artistic voice. While still a practicing dancer, Sefa will continue to grow and move with the ever-changing flow of dance in Aotearoa, all the time producing stunning work while nurturing the next generation of dance artists. It is a pleasure to announce Sefa Tunupopo as the 2026 Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi Springboard recipient in dance.” – Springboard Selection Panel

Learn more about Sefa

Steven Junil Park 박준일 (Craft – Textiles) mentored by 2014 Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi Laureate Lisa Reihana CNZM
Receiving the Springboard Award for an Ōtautahi Christchurch Artist gifted by Hummingbird Coffee
 
“Steven 박준일 is an Ōtautahi-based artist and designer. Under the name 6x4 he produces functional objects with a focus on one-off garments, shoes, jewellery and furniture. Recently there have been more installation and performance-engaged projects including exhibitions at Season, The Dowse Art Museum, and the work has embraced weaving, scent-making, hand-carved wooden components and more. Steven has exhibited around Aotearoa and collaborated with actors, musicians, singers, dancers and filmmakers. In 2023 Dame Doreen’s Gift, an annual award by the Blumhardt Foundation to establishing object/craft practitioners, acknowledged his ‘relentless commitment to demonstrating the contemporary relevance of the handmade’. This Springboard award recognises the extraordinary contribution Steven makes to craft/object practices in Aotearoa, and his particular impact in Ōtautahi.” – Springboard Selection Panel

Learn more about Steven

Te Huamanuka Luiten-Apirana (Theatre) mentored by 2024 Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi Laureate Miriama McDowell
Receiving the Springboard Award gifted by Supernova Boosted Donors
 
“Te Huamanuka’s work is powered by a passion for story-telling, music, te reo Māori and rangatahi perspectives in a contemporary world. Her writing is sharp with authenticity and humour and the Springboard award will super-charge her kaupapa “to share truthful stories told with waiata and culture and heart.” – Springboard Selection Panel

Learn more about Te Huamanuka

Tony Guo (Visual Arts) mentored by 2025 Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi Laureate Séraphine Pick
Receiving the Springboard Award for Visual Arts gifted by the Edgar Family Foundation
 
“Tony graduated with a Master of Visual Arts from University of Auckland, with First Class Honours. His work weaves together figurative traditions, surrealism, and queer storytelling. Blending art history with personal identity and fantasy, his paintings are compelling and complex. The Springboard Award recognises an emerging artist gaining attention for his distinctive painterly voice and the building momentum of his practice.” – Springboard Selection Panel

Learn more about Tony
 

How were our recipients selected?

Springboard called for nominations in November 2025, and an independent selection panel gathered late February 2026 to review the submissions received.

The selection panel, chaired by Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi Trustee Tanea Heke, included:

• Heather Galbraith – Contemporary Art Curator, Writer, and Professor of Fine Arts, College of Creative Arts, Massey University
• Lucy Hammonds – Curator, Dunedin Public Art Gallery 
• Taarati Taiaroa (Te Atiawa, Ngāti Tūwharetoa and Ngāti Apa) – Curator, Contemporary Māori Art, Govett Brewster Gallery
• Taiaroa Royal (Te Arawa, Kai Tahu, Ngāti Raukawa) – 2023 Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi Laureate and Dancer, Director of Okareka Dance Company
• Gina Dellabarca – Show Me Shorts Film Festival Director
• Dr Dugal McKinnon – Composer, Sound Artist and Associate Professor, Composition, Massey University
• Megan Dunn – Author, Art Critic, Essayist and 2022 Annual Writer in Residence at the International Institute of Modern Letters, Victoria University Wellington. 
• Dolina Wehipeihana (Ngāti Tukorehe, Ngāti Raukawa) – Dancer, Choreographer, Theatre Producer, and Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts Co-Director