Kyla Cresswell

Ōtepoti, Dunedin

Kyla Cresswell was born in Wellington, New Zealand. She majored in Printmaking at the Dunedin School of Art, graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1996.

With a practice that relates back to the land, she explores nature’s tenacity and fragility.

Recent work investigates wetlands, waterways and native remnant bush blocks, celebrating their vital role in the ecosystem as precious filters, habitats and moderators of the surrounding land.

Kyla Cresswell grew up in Invercargill, Murihiku / Southland. After her studies, she lived in Japan, England and Canada, experiences that were influential on her art practice. Returning to New Zealand in 2006 to 2010, Kyla established and directed Solander: works on paper in Wellington, a gallery dedicated to printmaking and drawing. Kyla now lives in Dunedin, where she works as a full-time artist.

Founding Little Prints Printmaking in 2019, Kyla teaches printmaking workshops and shares her enthusiasm for print. In May 2023 she taught at Printopia, the New Zealand Festival of Printmaking, in Auckland.

In 2022 Kyla was awarded the William Hodges Fellowship through the Southland Art Foundation. In 2024 she was artist in residence at the Dunedin School of Art and, in the same year was a finalist in the Parkin Drawing Prize.

Kyla has exhibited in New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, Japan and Canada and her work is held in private and public collections, including the Southland Museum and Art Gallery Collection, the Eastern Southland Gallery Collection, Invercargill Public Art Gallery Collection and Hocken Collections Te Uare Taoka ō Hākena, University of Otago.