Leger, who has Maori, Samoan, Fijian and Tongan ancestry, produced a spoken word performance entitled Introducing Culture following her exploration of the museum.
"I was really interested in the new approach that the museum was taking, allowing young people to access and to talk about history," says Leger. "Once I got there I realised how much accessibility they were giving us, as young New Zealanders. We were allowed to access the archives and museum collections, and to go down to where these things are kept and see treasures of our ancestors."
Leger's powerful performance, which can be seen on YouTube, led to her presenting at the Auckland TEDx youth event in 2013.
She was appointed head girl of Epsom Girls' Grammar School the same year.
The museum's Youth Outreach programmer, Bethany Edmunds, is co-ordinating Urbanlife. Edmunds, an artist and weaver, completed her master of arts in visual culture: costume studies at New York University. Through her exploration of Maori weaving, she found herself doing a lot of research in museums, including an internship at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington DC.
"I am passionate about taonga and museum collections, and I have done a lot of working with teenagers. I was quite vocal as a teenager, and I want to create opportunities for them to have a voice and get their passion out there," Edmunds says.
The programme was first run in 2012, expanded in 2014 and this year is casting its net wider still to find 18 participants.
"It's an opportunity for young people interested in exploring galleries, archives and museums, plus people who are interested in being advocates for youth in their communities and those in the creative community," says Edmunds.
Participants will find out more about museums - "who we are and what we do" - identify issues for young people in their communities, and produce creative works which respond to these ideas, through screen-printing, soundscapes, spoken word poetry, photography, devised theatre and street art.
"This year, because we are opening a new exhibition called Auckland Stories, the programme will involve items from the collections which relate to this - whether it is Auckland's geography, or an important event or a person," says Edmunds.
"We will start with a brainstorm at the marae stay, about the collective challenges faced by young people in Auckland. Then the following week, each day of workshops starts with a tour around the collection, then technical workshops getting into the participants' projects as a response to it."
Edmunds says the Urbanlife programme is about outreach and "making the museum more visible to communities that don't usually access us".
Need to know
Urbanlife runs from January 15-24, and is free. Apply to urbanlife@aucklandmuseum.com with your CV, your Auckland story and why you want to be involved (a written submission, a poem, a short video or an audio recording). Applications close January 7, successful applicants will be notified January 9.
Watch: Arizona's performance, Introducing Culture here
