Where do our arts communities stand when it comes to seeking much-needed funding and resources? Crowdsourcing platforms that cater specifically to the arts continue to be a vital avenue for those seeking support, and for its fourth consecutive year, The Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi has launched its annual Boosted x Moana campaign to help propel a diverse range of projects from a medley of Pasifika artists.
For the month of October, the campaign sees 18 artists seeking funding support to get some of their projects off the ground, and ultimately upholding the rich tapestry of Pasifika-led artworks that make our arts scene special.
The diversity in projects is admirable with Boosted x Moana now in its fourth year running, including the re-invigoration of an iconic waiata, a pou for a waka carving workshop and a Pasifika film screening collective, a contemporary take on traditional Fijian masi (hand-beaten fibre), plus much more.
The task of raising funds is not simple, though — Boosted’s proposition of all-or-nothing means that all crowdfunding campaigns have to meet their funding target, otherwise donations are refunded to their supporters.
Get to know all 18 projects for this year’s campaign and help preserve and support a flourishing future of Pasifika arts in Aotearoa. The donation deadline is Tuesday, October 31.
FILM
Loloma, meaning love in Fijian, is a 10-minute drama-comedy about an elderly Fijian woman, Margaret. She is heartbroken and depressed after the loss of her husband. Unsure about how to live life without him and in an effort to honour his memory, she wrestles with the decision to embark on a nationwide train trip.
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Advertise with NZME.“With this story, we explore the loneliness and isolating parts that our elderly community falls subject to,” says Esther Louise. “We pose the question, ‘where does all the love go?’”
This short film has special meaning for writer and director Esther. Loloma is a love letter to her dearest friend, her grandmother. After the loss of her Papa, Esther observed the ways in which her Nana was forced to confront life without him and how in this place of grief, new parts of herself came to the surface; a different kind of independence and candidness.
With multiple goals for this ambitious project, the focus for the film-makers is to grow film-making as an art form for Papua New Guineans to express themselves, as well as raising awareness and opportunities for Papua New Guinean artists in other disciplines, including music, design and performance.
“Connecting communities is another key aim for us doing this project,” says Helmet and Joshua. “Through the making of this short film, which will be filmed and completed in New Zealand, we want to create a space for Papua New Guineans to celebrate their culture with their fellow New Zealanders, and global audiences. We also want to see connections being made between Papua New Guinean artists and New Zealand-based artists, and our team will be a blend of both. Sharing each other’s work, supporting each other (a lot of our team are emerging in their fields and will be working alongside more experienced practitioners) and learning new skills to takeaway for their next works would be a wonderful outcome for the Hunters team.”
Kakaia Productions, founded by Carrisse Uta’i and Kahu Kaiha, builds upon the success of their first short film Find Where I Belong. With Carrisse’s diverse Samoan, Tuvalu, Cook Island, and German heritage, and Kahu’s Marquesan and Chinese background, they infuse their films with unique cultural elements, offering a fresh perspective to audiences. Their goal is to share their cultural perspective with the world and raise awareness about Pacific social issues.
Inspired by the writer’s lived experience, Küī, a 10-year-old girl, learns the harsh reality of her absent mother when their single father forgets to pick her and her brothers up from school. Set in the writer’s hometown of South Auckland, specifically in Manurewa and Papatoetoe, the film explores themes of motherhood, men’s mental health and family love.
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Flower of Life is a narrative music video collaboration between Samoan/Pākehā artist Ema I’u and film-maker Francis Baker, supported by NZ On Air’s New Music Pasifika 2022 programme. “The song is about moving past old systems that have disconnected us from nature and our ancestral power to a place of healing, collaboration and the next age of enlightenment. This story is the start of Ema’s journey as an artist, exploring her culture and connecting to the strength of her Moana Gafa.” Since shooting the video, the duo have been selected for the first-ever SXSW Sydney Film Festival and need support to get there.
LITERATURE
Studio Kiin is an Indigenous-led creative studio and collective, with a primary focus on producing three new and different literary works under Studio Kiin’s press arm by three members of our collective: Kalo Kalo, a published book of poetry and audiobook, by Arieta Rika; Senikau ni Viti, a three-part illustrative poster series of flowers and plants endemic to Fiji, by Elsie Andrewes; and Talanoa Mada, a card deck for storytellers who get stuck in the devising process, by Emele Ugavule.
THEATRE
Written by Teherenui Koteka, Pane Provocations translates to “provocations about sex” in Cook Islands Māori. A 90-minute theatre production, Pane Provocations follows the lives of six young Cook Islanders whose relationships bring revelations about sex and queerness.
Kaisa Fa’atui will have his directorial and playwriting debut next year in a theatre show called On God. It will have its development season in January 2024 as part of Victoria University’s Six Degrees Festival and is about the journey of Nafanua, the Samoan goddess of war, and Jesus, the son of God, as they bestow their wisdom and knowledge to various humans on Earth that are experiencing their own trials and tribulations. Funds raised will go towards the cast and crew.
CRAFT & OBJECT
Inspired by her grandmother Mary (Strickland) Rudolph from Aitutaki, Cook Islands, Helena’s art piece will be a modern interpretation of her grandmother’s style of Tivaevae. This project will take place in Kaitaia with support from the Women of Worth Charitable Trust.
Made as a solid piece installation with the help of Pasifika youth from the Far North, it will be made by four generations of her direct lineage. “During the making of this project, we will also be sharing stories of my grandmother’s culture, craft and food to connect them with the art genre and our Pasifika stories and history.”
‘Akau Tau, The War Club, is not just an ancient weapon but an heirloom of families, genealogies of community that formed relations or built new lives. After each warfare, victory, loss or event, a decorative or symbolic carving would be gouged onto the war club to tell their stories.
“It is my hope to create a 2.8-metre ‘Apa’apai ‘akau tau to draw attention for talanoa and begin sharing and passing down knowledge and stories,” says the artist. “This will be the largest ‘Apa’apai ‘akau tau to be ever made. It will be measured 2.8 metres long. It will be enriched and decorated with both ancient and modern patterns, motifs, and embellishments of bones, shells and stones to tell our stories from all over Pasifika and the vast Moana nations.”
LITHOGRAPHY
The Kaiwaka-based artist is being supported by the Arts Foundation NZ as part of the 2023 Boosted x Moana crowdfunding campaign.
Crowdfunding will enable Filani to further develop a project around her research into two WWII pilots; one was her father’s younger brother, the other a Fijian chief’s son. Both young men enrolled in the RNZAF and both died having earned their wings. The project will look to connect Aotearoa and Fiji through creative and historical talanoa (discussion).
“I started looking at this project a year ago. It will be another year before it is ready to be exhibited. With the crowdfunding, I will be working with the APS Editions director John Pusateri on a stone lithograph, which will be printed on Fijian masi, a traditional hand-beaten fibre.”
MUSIC
Iconic art collective the Pacific Sisters make a welcome addition to this year’s projects. As one of the most enduring and diverse Tāngata Moana art collectives in Aotearoa, the Pacific Sisters is thrilled to announce its participation as one of three Moana artists from Aotearoa in the 24th Biennale of Sydney’s Ten Thousand Suns exhibition, opening on March 9- June 10, 2024.
For this international exhibition, they aim to create a special new extended version of Henry’s iconic anti-nuclear protest song, Moruroa.
Henry Ah-Foo Taripo is a musician, composer, and performance artist with roots in the Cook Islands, Tahiti, Samoa, and Tonga. He is also a dedicated Pacific Sisters member and long-time collaborator.
VISUAL ART
Nga Toi O Te Moana is a creative project coordinated by Tokanui Trust and focused on a love for the Moana and a celebration of waka connections across the Pacific. “We are dreaming of a creative collaboration that will support young artists, strengthen ties with waka whānau across the Pacific, and enhance our waka workshop and learning space with both painted and carved work.”
Pierre Kaiha, a carver from the Marqueses, will stay with the artists in Tutukaka, Whangarei. “He will share his knowledge and guide us in delivering carving wananga for rangatahi from around Te Tai Taokerau.” Funds will go toward the cost of hosting an artist in Tutukaka — flights, accommodation and living costs, the cost of materials for both carving and mural work, the cost of holding wananga with community and schools, a stipend for artists, and filming costs for a short video of the event.
Built on a foundational value system and fundamental ethos, Artandrealism.com is the brainchild and creative vision of Jacquie (Naicou) Burke — a 30-year practicing graphic and concept designer, creator, artist and startup mentor, multi-cultural visual artist and ‘artpreneur’.
With the realisation that there are hundreds of undiscovered emerging visual artists around the country potentially unable to combine traditional art practices with digital technologies in order to expand audience reach and generate a viable and sustainable income, the Artandrealism.com model pivoted.
Burke has spent the past six months re-developing the platform to accommodate an eager waiting list of emerging New Zealand and Pasifika visual artists who are ready to join the Art & Realism platform and diversify their art practice for the digital arena.
MULTI-DISCIPLINE
Lalaga Niu is a newly formed collective of storytellers and world-builders connected by the Moana. “Our kaupapa is simple; Lalaga Niu isn’t a group but a shifting space, a bridge that connects the stories of the past with the present. We hope to make this a vessel for Indigenous and Pasifika storytellers to continue to amplify their voices and artistry.”
LaunchPad is proud to present Fetu creative talks, a series of intimate talanoa featuring an eclectic line-up of Aotearoa creatives and experts.
The goal is to share and discuss knowledge around unconventional and often non-linear pathways to a successful and sustainable creative career here in Aotearoa. Speakers will be talking in depth about their own journeys in the industry, offering unique insights and tangible advice to help guide and inspire the next generation of young creatives.
“Our line-up of creatives and experts already includes Ladi 6, Shavaughn Ruakere, Coco Solid, Petrina Togi-Sa’ena, Rizvan, Tuki Laumea, Bella Kololo and Slave from Fat Freddy’s. We believe the next generation of young creatives is getting further from the stories of the artists who went before them. We want to open up the floor and discuss what it means to be creative in this country. We will film the talks so we can share them through social media and reach a wider audience.”
Utilising the She is Not Your Rehab art gallery to creatively facilitate talanoa is the goal and objective for a series of creative workshops aimed at rangatahi that spoken word poet Dietrich Soakai and Mataio Brown, the founder of She is Not Your Rehab, have collaborated on to offer freely to high-school aged young men in group-facilitated sessions.
Currently, She is Not Your Rehab receives countless requests from schools to facilitate something like this but often there is just not the funding to be able to deliver it. “This is a strengths-based kaupapa that successfully can still have meaningful kōrero around hard topics with positive Pasifika male models who have successfully broken cycles in their own lives. It promotes the mental wellbeing of our rangatahi and supports them in their own understanding of their identity and place in the world.”
Another well-known collective, Black Grace dance company is seeking support for its forthcoming project, The Art of Black Grace 2/5, in collaboration with Britomart Group. The Art of Black Grace is a series of state-of-the-art, first-of-its-kind architectural, digital and immersive dance experiences suitable for the whole family, created in Aotearoa, by Black Grace founder Neil Ieremia ONZM. It’s a sensory exhibition that uses sophisticated technology to immerse audiences in an extraordinary world of dance, art and music.
DANCE
Mood is a 14-week project that sparks creative expression and celebrates dedicated participants. It culminates in a diverse showcase on November 11, bringing together Summer Studios dancers, local artists, choreographers, and Otautahi Community creatives.
