Young netballer meets idols

Wadestown netballer Bella Fa’amausili scored the experience of a lifetime when she won the opportunity to meet her idols at the ANZ Premiership Pulse v Steel match at TSB Arena on 17 April.

Bella gained this opportunity when she was named an ANZ Future Captain.

Nine-year-old Bella, who attends Wadestown School, experienced what it’s like to be an ANZ Premiership player when she led the teams onto the court.

She also had the opportunity to get close to the players, and caught the action from prime courtside seats.

Bella’s friend Lily-Mae McLellan was able to join her.

Her highlight of the day was getting to meet her favourite player, Tiana Metuarau from the Pulse, Bella says.

“She’s pretty much my role model because she’s so good at shooting, which is what I like most about netball.”

Bella plays both summer and winter netball at Wadestown School and says she practises shooting every day when she gets home from school.

“I’d love to play for the Pulse or even be a

Silver Fern one day, so being named an ANZ Future Captain made me really proud. The whole day was just awesome.”

ANZ Bank is committed to its support of netball from grassroots players in the community to the elite players in the ANZ Premiership and Silver Ferns, the bank’s ANZ Head of Sponsorship Sarah Rogan says.

“That’s why we’re giving 98 young netball fans, like Bella, the chance to meet their idols of the ANZ Premiership and experience the magic of a live game.

“Sport is incredibly important to a child’s wellbeing and what better way to be inspired to get involved than to watch those at the top of their game.

“We hope this opportunity shows these young fans how far they can go with netball and inspires them to follow their dreams into the game.”

ANZ has supported netball from grassroots games in the community, to the elite level for the past 14 years.

Applications for the ANZ Future Captains programme are now open at ANZcourtside. co.nz.

Marsden welcomes 24th Artist in Residence

The Artist in Residence programme has been a highlight of the school’s arts and cultural programme since 1999, providing students with an opportunity to work alongside a professional artist.

Marci will present masterclassstyle workshops for Marsden students in support of their academic studies, and local primary school students are also invited to attend a one-day workshop.

“I love the process of making art and being a member of a culture and community invested in nurturing the development of the creative process in all people,” she says.

Highly accomplished and with a wealth of experience in teaching and artistic practice, Marci was born in Denver, Colorado, and has lived and worked in New Zealand since 2006.

She has received numerous awards and artist residencies in both New Zealand and the Uniterd States, including the Annual Fellowship Award from Kala Art Institute in Berkeley, California, and the Merit Grant Recipient for a residency at the Vermont Studio Center.

Marci’s work has been displayed in exhibitions around the world and in 2019, 2020 and 2022 she was a finalist for the New Zealand Painting and Printmaking Award.

In addition to her impressive artistic accomplishments, Marci also teaches at The Learning Connexion in Lower Hutt, where she has developed and expanded her interdisciplinary art practice.

Her collaborative, interactive exhibition entitled “Selective Memory”, which she created with fellow printmaker Toni Mosley, was shown at Railway Street Studios in Auckland in 2019.

During her six-week residency at Marsden, Marci will have use of a designated studio space in the Art and Design Department known as the “Art House”.

She will mentor and instruct students in a wide range of themes, culminating in an exhibition at the Academy of Fine Arts in Wellington that includes her body of work, as well as some of the students’ art.

One of the key messages that Marci tries to instil in her students is that “they are in charge of their own creative journeys ultimately and that by learning to observe and analyse their processes they will improve their outcomes, and they will have an exciting time doing it!”

Through programmes such as the Artist in Residence and other creative initiatives, Marsden School seeks to inspire young learners to aspire to be creative thinkers who can think outside the norm, visualise new solutions, and make a difference in the world of tomorrow.

“The programme is a testament to our commitment to fostering creativity and artistic excellence, and we welcome Marci to our

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