Ever since he was a little boy, Dean Cross has been passionate about dance and expressing himself through art.
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After travelling the world as a professional dancer, Mr Cross trained himself as a visual artist.
"Art can sometimes be a fairly solitary pursuit and so it can be really useful for yourself to get new input to get new surroundings," Mr Cross said.
"Art is a dialogue so when you can have that dialogue in more ways than one, it's better for everybody."
On Thursday, Arts Minister Gordon Ramsay announced Mr Cross had been selected to take part in the Canberra Wellington Indigenous Artist Exchange pilot as part of NAIDOC Week.
Mr Ramsay saidMr Cross would fly to New Zealand next year to explore the shared history of Indigenous Anzacs using photo and video-based practices.
"Dean is a talented young artist and he’ll be using this fantastic opportunity to immerse himself in a new arts context and culture," Mr Ramsay said.
"We’re looking forward to working with our colleagues in Wellington to develop this important program to help strengthen cultural connections between our two cities, and celebrate what’s unique about both places."
The project will explore themes of transcultural mourning, Indigenous and non-Indigenous remembrance practices and the complexities of Indigenous National Service in a post-colonial paradigm.
"Like many Australians, I have an ancestor who lost their life on the 25th April, 1915, at Gallipoli," Mr Cross said.
"As an artist I am interested in how one navigates the cultural space of being both proud to be part of the Anzac narrative, but not necessarily supportive of war, especially as it has developed throughout the 20th century."
Mr Ramsay said the government was working closely with Wellington City Council to select a Māori artist from the Wellington region to spend six weeks in Canberra during 2018-19.
Tailored programs will be created for each of the artists.
