02 Oct 2019
He Mahi Tahi – Te Tūhono ki ētahi atu
“Ko ngā hapori kei te hāpai i ngā mahi toi. Ka whakakaha, ka kawe ngā amo i te hīkoi a Te Waka toi, ā ka tū anō hei māngai mō ngā whānau, hapu, iwi”
It is the communities that uphold the integrity of the arts. The amo strengthen and carry the journey of Te Waka Toi and represent whānau,-hapū-iwi. - Te Hā o ngā Toi, Te Rautaki mō Ngā Toi Māori 2019 – 2024, Te Anga Mātauranga Māori, Amo (Hapori)
Creative New Zealand has developed partnerships with two key Māori arts organisations, Toi Ngāpuhi in Te Taitokerau (Northland) and the organisation that oversees Te Tairawhiti Arts Festival on the East Coast, that will support regional development in the arts with a focus on ngā toi Māori that is aligned to the vision of Creative New Zealand’s national strategy for Māori arts ‘Te Hā o ngā toi Māori’ to be visible everywhere and highly valued as part of New Zealand’s distinct identity, which is admired globally.
Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival (Te Tairāwhiti Region)
In 2018 CNZ recognised the opportunity to support ngā toi Māori in the Tairāwhiti region by providing funding support for the inaugural Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival. And in June this year, Creative New Zealand signed an agreement to co-invest in regional research that will inform the scoping, development and implementation of a regional Māori arts strategy that delivers outcomes for artists and communities of Te Tairāwhiti and Aotearoa.
Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival celebrates the people of the Gisborne region and the East Coast. It reinforces the importance of people and place, and further affirms the region’s strong position in the creative landscape of Aotearoa.
The Festival clearly aligns with Creative New Zealand’s Te Hā o ngā Toi strategy of partnering with others to advance ngā toi Māori, increasing public engagement with ngā toi Māori, and supporting communities to access ngā toi Māori.
From 4 – 20 October 2019, the Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival will deliver visual, performance, and object art form events by hundreds of performers from across New Zealand and the Pacific throughout the region.
The first show announced in the 2019 Tairāwhiti Arts Festival is a new work by respected actor and playwright Nancy Brunning, Witi’s Wāhine, based on excerpts and characters from Witi Ihimaera stories. Māui Pūtahi is Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival’s opening event, created by local powerhouse director and artist, Teina Moetara. And the world premiere of Henare; a story inspired by renowned Tairāwhiti composer, Henare Waitoa. In this new play created by Waitoa’s mokopuna - award winning playwright Hōhepa Waitoa and producer Hone Kouka - waiata, kōrero, and contemporary and traditional pūoro tell the story of one of Ngāti Porou's most prolific composers, from the kitchen of a homestead in Tikitiki.
Toi Ngāpuhi (Te Taitokerau Region)
Toi Ngāpuhi Trust seeks to ‘Inspire excellence in Ngāpuhi culture and creative expression across Te Taitokerau', the partnership is a regional /iwi pilot aligned to Creative New Zealand’s ngā Toi Māori engagement priority of providing support and resources to the community, supported by iwi.
The outcome of Creative New Zealand support towards this partnership will be that artists, co-ordinated by experienced management, will deliver new activities into the community
To mark the partnership, a ceremony was held in Kaikohe formalising the agreement and symbolising our organisations connection with the presentation by Toi Ngāpuhi of carved kōhatu stones that reference the Ngāpuhi whare wānanga method of teaching, Te Huka a Tai. Members of the Toi Ngāuhi Board include: Bernard Makoare (Chair), Moe Milne (Deputy Chair) Kura Te Waru Reweri, Rau Hoskins, Dorothy Waetford and Gail Richards (Administration)
Creative New Zealand has had strong relationships with prominent Ngāpuhi artists in the past who have since passed, like Colleen Urlich, Manos Nathan and Ralph Hotere.
And Ngāpuhi artists that Creative New Zealand have ongoing relationships with today, for example, include: Lisa Reihana, Teresa Reihana, James Eruera, Te Hemoata Erima and Dorothy Waetford.
Caption for top image:
Toi Ngāpuhi members & Creative New Zealand Staff at the signing of the Toi Ngāpuhi Partnership Agreement, Kaikohe, August 2019 Gail Richards (Toi Ngāpuhi Administrator) Dorothy Waetford (Toi Ngāpuhi Board Member) Moe Milne (Deputy Chair, Toi Ngāpuhi) Bernard Makoare (Chairman, Toi Ngāpuhi) Stephen Wainwright (CE CNZ) Paula Cuff (CNZ) Erena Kara (Te Runanga o Nga Puhi) & Haniko Te Kurapa (CNZ)
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