A case study from the Asian Artists’ Fund 2025
For dance artist Xin Ji, the Creative Fellowship has given him “time, space, and trust to dream more deeply inside my practice” — offering him the rare freedom to follow artistic instincts he would not usually have the capacity to pursue.
This freedom has led to a collaboration with painter Tony Guo and the development of Space Drag, a performance that was presented in part at Auckland Art Gallery in June 2026. “Let’s be honest,” he says. “If I were given the same amount of funding, but with a festival to premiere work, not in a thousand years would I approach Tony. The pressure’s on, and I have to be reasonable about how I’m going to use that opportunity.” That’s why the Fellowship has been so pivotal. Without it, “I don’t think I would ever have been brave enough to even think about challenging the form.”
The Asian Artists' Fund (AAF) Creative Fellowships support artists in Tāmaki Makaurau and Te Tai Tokerau who are mid-career and beyond to take creative risks and level up in their practice.
