McCahon House x Bundanon Exchange
In 2023, McCahon House Trust and Bundanon formed a partnership to offer an international residency exchange. The inaugural residency took place in August 2024 when Aotearoa artist Madison Kelly (Kāi Tahu, Kāti Mamoe, Pākehā) travelled to Australia. In April 2025, McCahon House will host Australian artist Juanita McLauchlan (Gamilaaray). Learn more about Juanita and her practice in the media release below.
The McCahon House x Bundanon Residency Exchange would not have been possible without the generous support of Brigit and David Kirk, along with the commitment from The Tomorrow Group - McCahon House patrons that support our international projects. The Kirks support enables artists from both Aotearoa and Australia to participate in the Exchange.
“We are delighted to support this new artist exchange between Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia. McCahon House and Bundanon deliver highly sought-after residencies which offer artists the opportunity to reflect on and express their art making in a new environment and a new cultural context. We know artists will use the opportunity in many different ways – contemplation, stimulation, challenge and reflection are just a few of these. We hope the exchange provides whatever it is that most supports the creative process for each artist" Brigit and David Kirk.
Bundanon is an art museum and residency embedded in the landscape, situated near Shoalhaven, New South Wales, Australia. A wildlife sanctuary set on 1000 hectares, it was the home of painter Arthur Boyd. The organisation creates learning programs for students of all ages and operates Australia’s largest artist in residence programme across disciplines.
Image above: Juanita McLauchlan, 2024
Madison Kelly (Kāi Tahu, Kāti Mamoe, Pākehā, b.1994) undertook the inaugural residency at Bundanon in August 2024. Madison says "My first priority with the residency was to experience the very new territory of undertaking any research internationally - as manuhiri in someone else's whenua. In a broader sense, I was excited to encounter the pōhatu/rocks over at Bundanon, to draw, listen, and play in their space as part of an ongoing research enquiry into percussion, mark making, and deep time whakapapa...I attended cultural burns and learnt more about the incredible cycles of indigenous conservation practices."
Madison graduated from the Dunedin School of Art in 2017, with a BVA (Hons First Class) in drawing. Grounded in Kāitahutaka, observation and sensory experience, their Ōtepoti based practice explores the potentials of field recording, drawing, and percussion as embodied entry points for learning and sharing multispecies whakapapa. Alongside their art practice Kelly is a percussionist, and lead kaiārahi/guide at Te Korowai o Mihiwaka, Orokonui Ecosanctuary (Waitati, Otago).
Recent shows include Huikaau: Where Currents Meet (Dunedin Public Art Gallery, 2023), TAUTIAKI HAPTIC (Dunedin Public Art Gallery, 2023), toko by and by (Blue Oyster Art Project Space, 2022), Pollen in the Trough (Wormhole, Edgecumbe, 2022), and Paemanu: Tauraka Toi (Dunedin Public Art Gallery, 2021). Kelly co-curated He Reka te Kūmara (Dunedin Public Art Gallery, 2021), and held the 2022 Blue Oyster Caselberg Trust Summer residency in Whaka Oho Rahi Broad Bay. Kelly is one of Te Tumu Toi The Arts Foundation’s 2023 Springboard award recipients, mentored by Peter Robinson.
