01 May 2018
The recipients of 2018’s Pasifika internships are writer and theatre maker Leki Jackson Bourke, dancer/choreographer Ufitia Sagapolutele, and budding museums and cultural heritage professional Talei Siilata.
The internship programme, funded by Creative New Zealand and delivered by Tautai Contemporary Pacific Arts Trust, provides art practitioners with professional development opportunities to develop as arts managers and administrators. The internships are open to Aotearoa New Zealand residents of Pacific heritage with a tertiary qualification and/or at least three years continuous experience working as an artist, practitioner or administrator.
The first CNZ Pasifika internships were offered in 2013, with three placements made available each year. The 20-week internships involve placing recipients with organisations able to enhance the interns’ skills, knowledge and experience, and build audiences beyond their communities. Tautai works with the interns to identify a suitable host organisation and prepare for their placement.
Ufitia Sagapolutele’s placement with Dance Aotearoa New Zealand (DANZ) began in March. Writer and theatre maker Leki Jackson Bourke’s internship will be split between Q Theatre and Auckland Theatre Company. Talei Si'ilata has begun a placement at Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and will then return to Auckland to complete her remaining time at the Auckland Museum.
During the placement, support is provided by respected writer Courtney Sina Meredith - who has also spent a decade in art administration. “I see these internships as an integral part of developing fresh leadership within the arts sector. This year's interns have much to contribute to the creative narrative of Aotearoa; they are passionate, astute, and determined to share what they learn with their peers and communities.”
Most recipients of the Pasifika internship programme have gone on to build successful careers within the arts sector, with many being offered employment with their original host organisations. Examples include performing artist Paul Fagamalo.
Paul Fagamalo, current Talent Development Manager at the NZ Film Commission, describes the CNZ Pasifika Internship as “one of the greatest stepping stones for me in my career development. Since being an intern at Fresh TV at TVNZ in 2013 and 2014, I’ve been able to work in an industry that continues to excite me and has offered me a chance to combine my technical and producing skills with my love and passion for our creative Pacific community." These roles included working at Tikilounge Productions, Coconet.tv and in theatre as a performer and dance as a producer – before landing his Talent Development Manager role. “As part of the NZ Film Commission, the Talent Development department helps support filmmaking talent. In particular, I look after the Talent Development Fund - a bespoke fund for filmmakers towards their professional development – and help look after our relationships with the NZ industry guilds and organisations that the Commission supports.”
For media assistance, contact:
Victor van Wetering
T: 09 849 6565
E: victorvw@xtra.co.nz
W: www.tautai.org
Christina Jeffery
Manager, Tautai Contemporary Pacific Arts Trust
T: 021 373 402
E: manager@tautai.org
W: www.tautai.org
Tautai’s management of the internships reflects its successful track record of developing and delivering professional development programmes in the arts and tertiary sectors.
Tautai manger Christina Jeffery says the Creative New Zealand internships help artists solely working within their communities to acquire the skills to break into the art establishment.
“The internships provide the opportunity for talented people to spend time in institutions to learn about those organisations. Tautai is a lead organisation facilitating the development of contemporary pacific art and artists here and internationally. Tautai has a strong knowledge of, and networks within, New Zealand arts and cultural institutions. We’re committed to raising the profile of Pacific art and artists and fulfilling their aspirations to manage arts projects. These internships are an important part of achieving these objectives.”
TAUTAI has spent more than 30 years dedicated to the development and support of Pacific arts and artists. The name Tautai draws on the Samoan word for navigator, reflecting a desire to work alongside artists and offer guidance in enhancing their art practice.
Tautai supports the production of new and innovative work by practising artists, runs programmes for secondary and tertiary students of Pacific heritage and maintains a comprehensive website www.tautai.org Tautai receives ongoing major public funding from Creative New Zealand, significant funding from the Foundation North, and generous support from its Fetu Ta’i programme.
Recent Tautai projects include:
- The Third Space: Ambiguity in the Art of Graham Fletcher Gus Fisher Gallery
- Tautua Papakura Art Gallery
- LIT! Beresford Lane
- OFFSTAGE 8 Artspace
- Sauniga ICL Building
- Artist Residency Programme: photographer, artist Juliana Brown Eyes Kahomovailahi
- Our Inherited Body & Thinking Locally, Acting Globally Papakura Art Gallery
- TAUTAI | CELEBRATE Galatos, Ponsonby Central & Ponsonby Community Centre
- Art4Food St Matthews
- Influx ST PAUL St Gallery, AUT
- Tautai |Navigate: Thirty years of navigating contemporary Pacific art Studio One Toi Tu
- Myths and Legends in my veins Papakura Art Gallery
- Lonnie Hutchinson Black Bird Gus Fisher Gallery and Dowse Art Museum
- Fresh Horizons workshops Wellington, Dunedin, Tauranga and Auckland
- Pacific Materiality Studio One Toi Tū
- Niki Hastings-McFall’s Flock Whitespace and Fale Ula Auckland Arts Festival
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