October 14, 2014

A NEW FUTURE FOR THE KATHERINE MANSFIELD MENTON FELLOWSHIP

The Winn-Manson Menton Trust has joined with the Arts Foundation of New Zealand to set up a permanent capital fund that will secure New Zealand’s iconic Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship for the future.

Details of the new scheme were made public after The Menton Report given by last year’s Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellow, Greg McGee at the City Gallery Wellington on the evening of Tuesday 14 October.

McGee discussed his soon to be published novel, The Antipodeans, researched and written in Menton, whose plot ranges between Italy and New Zealand during WWII to contemporary real estate shenanigans in Auckland.

Since 1970 the Winn-Manson Menton Trust has awarded the fellowship, currently worth $75,000, to those who have gone on to become some of New Zealand’s greatest writers.  Each fellow gets access for a period of six months or more to the writing room in the Villa Isola Bella where Katherine Mansfield once lived, which is maintained and made available by the City of Menton. 

In the interests of future-proofing the fellowship for all time, the Trust has decided to shift from individual sponsorships to the greater security of a permanent capital fund.  Winn-Manson Trust Chair, Richard Cathie, says he is delighted to be working with a specially formed fundraising committee, Chaired by Keith Ferguson and facilitated by the Arts Foundation of New Zealand. 

“We have to keep this fellowship alive and secure for future generations,” says Richard Cathie. “We are delighted that the Arts Foundation recognises the fellowship’s importance to New Zealand literature and has agreed to manage and administer it once we reach our target. The Trust has already raised $350,000, so a further $450,000 is required to ensure the award of the Fellowship every second year, which will be announced and celebrated at the Westpac New Zealand Arts Awards. If we can exceed the target, we will continue to make the award annually.” 

All donations made to the Arts Foundation for the Katherine Mansfield Fellowship are tax deductible, and donations over $300 also qualify for patronage of the Arts Foundation. 

The Trust’s fundraising committee has already set up various fundraising initiatives including an appeal to book groups around New Zealand.  Details of that scheme can be found on the Arts Foundations website: www.thearts.co.nz.

For more information and to find out how to donate contact the Arts Foundation.