Pacific women dominate 2023 Arts Pasifika Awards

Lonnie Hutchinson (Ngāti kuri ki Ngāi Tahu, Samoan, Celtic)

Lonnie is a leading multi-disciplinary artist whose work is held in both private and public collections around Aotearoa and internationally. Her practice comments astutely on aspects of indigeneity in the contemporary world. Lonnie’s signature cut-out work extends across a range of materials, including black builder’s paper, vintage wallpapers, acrylic, steel and aluminum. She uses various motifs that reference her cultural heritage and comment on ancient tradition and the effects of colonisation; fusing the personal and political.

Lonnie has created a number of public commissioned works around Aotearoa, including Hamilton Gardens, Auckland’s Britomart, and Central Ōtautahi. She has also taught Art and Art History and Theory in various colleges and universities in Australasia, and has had management roles for various arts organisations. In 2000, Hutchinson was the first female artist recipient of the Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies residency at the University of Canterbury, and was also a recipient of the first International Indigenous Art residency at the Banff Art Centre, in Alberta, Canada in 2003.

Ani O'Neill (Ngāti Makea, Ngāti Te Tika)

Ani is a New Zealand artist of Cook Island and Irish descent. Ani graduated with a BFA in Sculpture at Auckland’s Elam School of Fine Arts in 1994. Now considered a pioneer in Aotearoa’s Contemporary Pacific Arts scene, Ani has had a prolific exhibiting career, both nationally and internationally, as a solo artist, and as a key member of the Pacific Sisters Collective. Ani’s work is rooted in techniques and perspectives from both her mother’s homeland of Rarotonga and her birthplace within the Pacific Diaspora of Auckland, New Zealand. The techniques that form the foundations of Ani’s practice are inspired by her grandmother’s teachings of Cook Islands material and ceremonial culture, and are experienced through making craft, installation, objects, and performance. An ongoing thread throughout Ani’s practice is to honour the gift of generational knowledge, sharing this taonga through education and collaboration as a core part of Moana Pasifika philosophy.

Lavinia Lovo

Lavinia is a Samoan-Tongan rangatahi and a wheelchair user, who credits her tenacity and perseverance to the determination of her parents to raise her to not accept the limitations of her disability. Lavinia was drawn to Pacific arts from a young age as it enabled her to communicate through movement and dance, what she wasn’t able to communicate verbally. Over time Lavinia’s passion for Pacific dance and arts grew, providing her with a way to connect with Pacific cultures, and to be seen as an artist, not just a disabled person. Lavinia is a major advocate for Pasifika youth with visible and invisible disabilities. She helped to found Nesian – a performing arts group for Pacific youth with disabilities, and she is the I.Lead & Pacific Projects Co-ordinator at YES Te Whare Whaikaha. Lavinia is also an experienced youth worker and sits on many Pacific panels. Lavinia incorporates a Pacific youth perspective into her work to increase resilience, wellbeing, participation and visibility of Pacific rangatahi. 

Losalia Milika Pusiaki Fifita

Milika has contributed greatly to Tongan Arts in Aotearoa. She comes from a line of Tongan Dance choreographers and is a close relative of the Late Queen Salote of Tonga. Milika founded the Fe'unukoula Academy of Tongan Arts, Dance and Culture in 1996, and in the years since, has taught many young people about Tongan language and culture through oratory and performance. In 2022, Milika authored a book that speaks to the importance of Tongan choreography. She has also established a Tongan women’s artisan group in Auckland, where female artists can share their creative skills with others. She is currently pursuing her PhD as Dr of Philosophy in Indigenous Knowledge and has recently established a not-for-profit organization to help with the preservation of Pacific Heritage Arts.

Katrina Iosia

Katrina is a Niuean multidisciplinary artist with a materiality-based background, who has received global recognition as a prominent figure in Augmented reality. Katrina's expertise extends across creative technology Augmented Reality (AR) design and development, creative technology, VR, 3D modeling, animation, digital sculpting, and illustration. Katrina has exhibited internationally, including in Paris and Vancouver, and she’s been part of many national programs and initiatives. Katrina is committed to arts education, ethics in design methodologies, and the cultivation of safe, inclusive environments. Her work aims to preserve and showcase Pacific perspectives within the global digital landscape. Katrina’s work with NFTS (Non-Fungible Tokens) is a testament to her ability to push the boundaries of traditional art forms. She is passionate about using NFTs to explore digital art and the role of preservation and technology in the art world.

Falepipi he Mafola Niuean Handcraft Inc 

Over the past 30 years, Falepipi he Mafola Niuean Handcraft Inc. have played a crucial role in continuing and preserving Niuean cultural knowledge and practices in Aotearoa. Founding members include Molima Molly Pihigia QSM and her late husband Fataiki Pihigia, from the Niue villages of Tuapa Uhomotu, Alofi and Namukulu. Members that joined later are from Makefu, Liku, Hikutavake, Hakupu, Avatele, Tamakautoga, Mutalau and Toi. The group was established to provide a nurturing space for elders and their families to foster wellbeing, independence and maintain their identity as Niueans living in Aotearoa. They have been meeting at Ōtāhuhu Town Hall Community Centre in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland every Thursday from 10am to 2pm since 1993 and continue to this very day. When they celebrated their 30th Anniversary earlier this year they honoured the over 50 loved ones that have since passed on, and the wealth of knowledges, skills and wisdom of their current living tāoga, treasures.

David Feauai-Afaese

David is an Auckland-born, Samoan indie-rock musician who is co-director of Noa Records, and a creative practitioner and advocate for Pacific arts. Known for their innovative, high-energy performances, David’s music is influenced by traditional Samoan-pop staples The Samoan Surfriders, Punialava'a, and The Five Stars, with contemporary rock 'n' roll thrown in. David’s most significant musical project, LEAO, weaves together traditional fa’asamoa and their own diasporic experience, exploring themes of rediscovery and reconnection, channelled into a sonic vā. In bridging traditional perceptions of fa’asamoa and unconventional forms of Pasifika music, LEAO shines a light on flowering creative possibilities and the forgotten homes to which we are rooted - allowing them to share life through each other.

Hayden Afele-Nickel

Hayden is an Aotearoa-born, 26-year-old Samoan artist, and a classically trained violinist. Hayden performs regularly in Orchestra Wellington and Hawkes Bay Orchestra, and occasionally joins the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. He is the principal violinist for Gemini Quintet and Gallery Orchestra. Earlier this year, Hayden led the string quartet for Hip-Hop and Strings at CubaDupa; he performed at the opening of Kia Mau Festival; and he led the string section for the recording of Arjuna Oakes’ live studio album.

Alongside performing, Hayden is committed to music education and accessibility. Specifically, removing obstacles for children who would otherwise be unable to receive orchestral music education. He recently taught with Virtuoso Strings Orchestra in Porirua and he is the artistic director and a senior tutor at the award-winning Arohanui Strings.  Hayden has also toured an interactive school's chamber music concert with the Martinborough Music Festival three times and has plans to tour it in schools across the whenua in future. Hayden is an active community volunteer in Wellington, and is also upskilling as a participant in the NZSO/Creative New Zealand Pasifika Conductor's Fellowship program.