Yukari Nikawa, from Tokyo, is a writer with international experience (France, Hong Kong, Lithuania, etc).
She was in residence at NZ Pacific Studio for 3 weeks as the 2016 Ema Saiko Poetry Fellow.
During her residency, Yukari worked to "build up a totally new writing style [in Japanese], combining prose and verse... a modern adaptation of the 'poetry narrative' or a 'collection of short tales to complement poems'..."
She presented her work at the Open Studio Day on Feb 7 (at NZPS) and at the Windrift Haiku Group on Feb 11 (in Wellington).
Yukari also collaborated with USA-born and Egypt-based poet Melanie Carter, who was also in residence in Mount Bruce. Their work was performed in Japanese and English on the opening night of the international exhibition "Art is a Living Thing" at Aratoi Museum in December 2016.
The residency marked her first visit to New Zealand.