Muriwai, New Zealand

Why artists choose Muriwai

Muriwai sits on Auckland’s west coast, looking straight out to the Tasman Sea. The beach is black sand, the wind is serious, and the whole place feels exposed and elemental in a way that seeps straight into your work.

Instead of a dense arts district, you get:

• Coastal drama: surf, cliffs, strong weather, and shifting light
• Gannet colonies at Ōtakamiro Point, which change through the season
• Native bush and valleys that feel surprisingly secluded given the drive from Auckland
• A quiet, residency-centred creative presence instead of a gallery strip

Artists tend to come here when the focus is on:

• Site-responsive work tied to land, geology, or the coast
• Ecology, permaculture, or environmental questions
• Writing, sound, drawing, sculpture, and research-based projects
• Taking a step away from city pressure while still being able to reach Auckland for supplies or meetings

Muriwai isn’t the place for constant openings and late-night studio visits. It works better as a retreat: a base where you can think, make, and walk, then dip into the city when you need to.

Earthskin Muriwai: the core residency hub

The main reason Muriwai shows up on artists’ radar is the Earthskin Creative Residency, run by the Earthskin Trust. This program has quietly turned a west-coast valley into a recurring destination for local and international artists.

How the Earthskin Creative Residency works

Earthskin Muriwai is a live/work residency grounded in permaculture and ecological thinking. Offerings shift over time, but the core pattern looks like this:

• Residency length commonly around 4 weeks, with some cycles mentioning possible extension or variations
• Capacity for up to three artists at a time, sharing the property
• Sessions typically scheduled across much of the year, often excluding the peak of winter
• Occasional shorter ecological residencies (for example around 12 days) announced in specific calls

Residencies emphasise time, space, and relationship with land over intense production demands. There’s no factory vibe here; you are encouraged to work deeply, slowly, and in conversation with the place.

Studios and living setup

The Earthskin property is designed as a small ecosystem where studio, house, and garden interlock. Typical features include:

• Messy-work studio (around 30 m²) suitable for painting, mixed media, sculpture, and other hands-on work
• Clean-work yurt (around 16 m²) for writing, drawing, sound, or quieter practices
• Open-plan areas in the main house that work well for writing, reading, and desk-based projects
• Shared accommodation with double beds, bathrooms, and a communal kitchen
• The option in some cycles to sleep in the yurt as a semi-separate space

The property operates on permaculture principles. Expect:

• Rainwater capture for water use
• Composting systems and worm farms
• Food gardens and low-waste habits
• A closer-than-normal relationship with your water, power, and waste

For some artists this is a huge plus creatively. The rhythms of gardening, cooking, and weather become part of the work. If you need sealed, highly controlled, industrial-standard facilities, this may feel too porous and domestic.

Residency expectations and reciprocity

Earthskin isn’t just offering a quiet house by the beach. The trust has a strong reciprocal ethos: you receive space and time, and you give something back.

Resident artists are usually asked to contribute through one or more of the following:

• A public talk about your work or process
• A workshop or skill-share with the community
• A post-residency exhibition or presentation
• A koha artwork (a gifted piece created in response to your time there)

This suits artists who are comfortable with gentle community engagement, who like sharing process, and who respect the idea of offering something back to the whenua and local people. If you need a completely anonymous retreat with no obligations, this may not be the right fit.

Who Earthskin Muriwai suits

Artists who usually thrive here:

• Mid-career or established artists who are self-directed
• Ecology-focused or land-based practitioners
• Writers, poets, and researchers who draw energy from isolation
• Potters, sculptors, sound artists, and designers who can adapt to shared spaces
• People who want to live lightly, engage with permaculture, and work around weather and tide

It can be less ideal if you:

• Need a large industrial workshop, heavy machinery, or highly toxic processes
• Require strict privacy and no shared house situations
• Prefer a tightly scheduled institutional environment with lots of staff support
• Want nightlife, daily gallery visits, or a big peer cohort in the same building

Costs and funding considerations

Earthskin has run different models over the years: fully covered scholarships, residencies where artists pay utilities, and other variations, depending on funding cycles. Always check the current terms directly on the Earthskin Trust site at earthskintrust.org or through any current call hosted by partners.

Common cost points you may need to plan for:

• Power and phone/internet, which are sometimes at the artist’s expense
• Transport (car hire, fuel, occasional trips to Auckland)
• Materials, especially if your work relies on specialised supplies not easily found locally
• Food, as most artists self-cater using the shared kitchen

If you are applying from overseas or from outside Auckland, consider pairing the residency with grant support from your own funders or national arts bodies. A focused four-week block with housing and studio provided can be very fundable as project development or research.

What it’s actually like to work in Muriwai

Muriwai is less a “city” and more a coastal settlement with a strong sense of landscape. That shapes how you work day to day.

Rhythm, weather, and landscape

The beach is a short walk from the Earthskin site, and that proximity becomes part of your schedule. Many artists end up structuring their day around:

• Morning or evening walks on the black sand
• Noticing tides, wind, and surf conditions
• Watching the gannet colonies and seabirds
• Returning to the studio with a kind of physical imprint of the landscape

Weather can move quickly: sun to wind to rain in a single afternoon. For field-based work, it helps to have flexible plans, backup drawing/writing tasks, and waterproof layers so that you can keep moving rather than waiting for perfect conditions.

Materials and making logistics

On site, the studios are great for:

• Painting and drawing at a moderate scale
• Small to medium sculpture and object work
• Sound recording and editing, if you bring equipment
• Writing, reading, and research with minimal distraction

If your practice needs large-scale fabrication, welding, stone carving, or complex printmaking equipment, you’ll likely need to:

• Reframe the residency as a research or development phase, not a final-production phase
• Use Muriwai to prototype, test ideas, record material, or write, then fabricate later elsewhere
• Occasionally travel into Auckland for specialist workshops or services

The key is to design a project that suits the place: responsive, adaptable, and not dependent on heavy industry.

Community and solitude balance

Muriwai’s resident population is relatively small, and your immediate community will often be:

• Other Earthskin residents sharing the house and studios
• Permaculture and environmental practitioners connected to the trust
• Occasional visitors for talks, workshops, or open days

This can feel like a gentle, low-pressure social field. You’re unlikely to get lost in a crowd, and you’ll have long stretches of studio time without interruption. If you want more scene, you can plan regular trips to Auckland for openings, studio visits, and meetings, then retreat to Muriwai to process and work.

Practical details: getting there, costs, visas

Access and transport

Muriwai is easiest to reach by car. The common path is:

• Fly into Auckland Airport
• Travel across the city and out to the west coast by car
• Use that vehicle for weekly supply runs and any city trips during your stay

Public transport options are limited and change over time, but even with a bus route nearby, you would still be working around sparse timetables and walking distances. For most resident artists, having a car (or sharing one with fellow residents) is the simplest solution.

Cost of living basics

New Zealand’s general cost of living is mid-to-high compared with many countries, and Muriwai is no exception. During a residency, the biggest expenses outside the program itself are usually:

• Groceries at Auckland-region prices
• Fuel for trips between Muriwai and city supplies
• Data/phone if you rely on mobile hotspots
• Materials, especially imported or specialised items

Most artists find that planning a weekly supply run and cooking in the shared kitchen keeps costs manageable. The more you can work with local, low-tech materials during the residency, the easier it is on the budget.

Visa planning for international artists

If you are coming from outside New Zealand, check your visa needs early. Key questions to clarify with the residency and with Immigration New Zealand include:

• Are you receiving a stipend, living allowance, or fee for public activities?
• Are you expected to give talks, workshops, or public events that count as work?
• How long will you stay in the country, including travel before or after the residency?

Depending on those details and your passport, you may be able to attend on a visitor visa, or you may need a different category. Ask Earthskin for a clear invitation letter describing your activities, and use that as a reference when checking official guidance.

Connecting Muriwai to the wider New Zealand art circuit

Muriwai works well as one part of a bigger Aotearoa project. If you’re already making the trip, you can extend your stay by linking it to other residencies or research stops.

Useful points to think about:

• Auckland: Your main access point for galleries, studios, art schools, and supplies. Many artists schedule meetings here before or after their Muriwai block.
• West-coast neighbours: Places like Piha and the wider Waitākere Ranges share a similar wild-coast energy and have their own creative histories.
• National opportunities: New Zealand hosts residencies in other regions, often supported by trusts, councils, or Creative New Zealand. Muriwai can be a first stop before heading to more urban or institutional programs.

Thinking of Muriwai as a concentrated research or making phase helps when planning this wider circuit. You can gather material, test ideas, and develop new directions there, then move on to more production- or exhibition-focused contexts elsewhere.

Is Muriwai right for your practice?

Muriwai’s residencies tend to be a strong match if you:

• Are comfortable working independently for long stretches
• Draw from landscape, weather, ecology, or questions of care and stewardship
• Like small, intentional communities and shared kitchen tables more than big social scenes
• Can adapt your project to modest, flexible studio spaces
• Value the idea of reciprocity with host, land, and community

You may want to look elsewhere if your current project absolutely requires:

• Industrial workshops or large-scale fabrication facilities on site
• Daily access to multiple galleries and institutions
• Nightlife, events, and constant city buzz
• Perfect control over environment instead of living with rainwater, compost, and weather

If this sounds like the kind of setting that would open up your work rather than constrain it, start by exploring Earthskin Trust’s current calls and residency descriptions at earthskintrust.org, then map out how your project could live in that specific valley, with those specific winds and tides. Muriwai rewards artists who show up ready to listen to land, weather, and community as collaborators, not just backdrops.