Pacific Arts Committee announces grants
31 October 2005
Pacific Arts Committee announces grants
"These interactions often inspire art that's innovative, edgy and uniquely Pacific."
Hamilton, Whangarei, Rapanui and Cambridge, England will benefit from collaborative projects between Màori and Pacific artists, supported in the latest project funding round of the Pacific Arts Committee of Creative New Zealand.
Announcing the grants this week, Chair Marilyn Kohlhase said the Committee had received a dramatic increase in applications for projects involving collaborations between Màori and Pacific artists.
"It's fantastic to see Màori and Pacific artists increasingly working together on projects," she said. "These interactions often inspire art that's innovative, edgy and uniquely Pacific."
Four projects were offered grants under the Tàngata Whenua Links funding programme, which supports projects that strengthen links between Pacific cultures and Màori. For instance, Ole Maiava and Darryl Thomson of Auckland were offered a $6000 grant towards producing a short documentary about Màori artist George Nuku's art installation, Out of Space Marae.
Nuku's installation will feature at the opening of Pasifika Styles, a major exhibition of Màori and Pacific art opening in April next year at the Cambridge University Museum in England. Maiava and Thomson, who collaborated on another international project for the Paradise Now? exhibition in New York in 2004, will have their documentary ready for screening towards the close of Pasifika Styles in late 2007.
Auckland artists Niki Hastings-McFall, Shigeyuki Kihara and Ani O'Neill were also offered grants to attend the opening of Pasifika Styles, and participate in the exhibition, associated workshops, talks and performances.
Te Waka Toi, the Màori arts board of Creative New Zealand, is also supporting the Cambridge exhibition with grants totalling $42,300. This includes a $27,000 grant to George Nuku to create Out of Space Marae.
In this project funding round, the Pacific Arts Committee received 59 applications for project funding seeking more than $660,000. Within its available funding resources, the Committee was able to offer grants to 27 projects totalling $160,810.
In making its decisions, the Pacific Arts Committee focussed on three priorities: support for the career development of professional artists; the maintenance of heritage artforms; and international opportunities for Pacific artists.
Ms Kohlhase said that the growth of Pacific arts in New Zealand and international interest in the work of Pacific artists has meant increased pressure on the Pacific Arts Committee's funding.
"The Committee worked to ensure a balance of support across a range of artforms; for both emerging and established artists; for artists taking their work offshore; and for the preservation of our heritage arts," she said.
Pacific Arts Committee project funding
Pacific Arts Development funding programme
$3600 to Niki Hastings-McFall (Samoan) of Te Atatu South, Auckland: towards travel costs to participate in a residency programme in February 2006 at the Bendigo Artists' Space, part of the official programme for the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. The resulting exhibition will consist of works dedicated to the concept of humanity.
$4000 to Selina March (Samoan) of Waiheke Island, Auckland: towards completing a collection of poetry
$4000 to Sara Vui-Talitu (Samoan) of Newtown, Wellington and Evelise Vaoga (Samoan) of Christchurch: towards writing a novel about the lives of two single Pacific Island girlfriends
$7000 to Justine Simei-Barton and Tala Pasifika Productions of Mt Albert, Auckland: towards producing a documentary about the Samoan sport of kirikiti as a cultural experience
$5000 to Auckland City Council: towards fees for artists performing at the Pasifika Festival 2006, to be held on 10 and 11 March at Western Springs
$5000 to Pacific Educators Manawatu of Palmerston North: towards a one-day cultural festival for Pacific Islands secondary school students in the Manawatu, Horowhenua and Wanganui, involving speech and art competitions, wearable art, cultural groups and a talent quest
$10,000 to the New Zealand Secondary Students' Choir: towards the costs of six Pacific choir members attending the World Choral Olympics in Xiamen, China in July 2006
$5000 to Random Acts Ltd of Porirua: towards the costs of recording a debut album of original music
$5000 to Dick Tuhipa (Niuean) of Mt Albert, Auckland: towards composing new material and recording an album
$5000 to Jason Greenwood (Samoan) of Pt Chevalier, Auckland: towards script development and workshopping a new play called Lena
$8000 to Joy Vaele (Samoan) of Christchurch: to collaborate with Tanya Muagututi'a and develop Angels, a new musical comedy based on the true-life experiences of four Pacific Island women and their musical careers.
Pacific Arts Promotion funding programme
$2417 to Island Divas of Auckland: towards travel costs to participate in Culture Moves!, a conference on Oceanic dance to be held in Wellington in November 2005
$3000 to South Pacific Event Management Ltd of Sandringham, Auckland: towards creating a contemporary Pacific Seven-Minute Dance Championship, to be held as part of the 2006 Pacific Sevens Festival, in January 2006
$6000 to Niki Hastings-McFall (Samoan) of Te Atatu South, Auckland and Shigeyuki Kihara (Samoan) of Newton, Auckland: towards travel costs to attend the opening of the Pasifika Styles exhibition in Cambridge in April 2006. The two artists have been invited to participate in the exhibition and associated workshops, talks and performances.
$2993 to Ani O'Neill (Cook Islands) of Grey Lynn, Auckland: towards travel costs to attend the opening of the Pasifika Styles exhibition in Cambridge in April 2006. The artist has been invited to participate in the exhibition and associated workshops, talks and performances.
$7000 to the First Draft Pacific Writers' Group of Christchurch: towards producing a publication of new work written by members of the writers' collective, a group that evolved from the Pacific Arts Committee First Draft workshop for emerging Pacific writers
$15,000 to New Pacific Underground of Christchurch: towards artists' fees and promotion of the sixth annual Pacific Arts Festival, to be held in Christchurch from 1-4 February 2006
$15,000 to Julie Foa'i and Te Vaka of Laingholm, Auckland: towards travel costs for the 13-piece band to perform at the Cultural Festival, to be held in Melbourne from 15 to 26 March alongside the 2006 Commonwealth Games.
Heritage Arts funding programme
$2800 to Tiare Apetai of Tokoroa: towards an exhibition of tivaivai in Rotorua in March 2006, showcasing the group's work
$10,000 to Steven Garnett (Tokelauan) of New Plymouth: towards travel costs to Tokelau where he will spend more than a year learning Talatalai, traditional Tokelauan carving skills, to help ensure its preservation.
$2000 to Lo'au Research Society of Mt Albert, Auckland: towards restoring and preserving original Tongan poetry
$5000 to Sounds Unlimited of Karori, Wellington: towards recording a CD of traditional Tokelauan songs, written in New Zealand by Maleko Inelo
$3000 to the Bill Sevesi Team of Mt Roskill, Auckland: towards recording a new album, involving emerging Pacific musicians.
Tàngata Whenua Links funding programme
$6000 to Te Aho Matua Incorporated of Levin: towards a Rapanui artist working with a Màori carver to complete a whare tupuna on the island
$8000 to Northland Pacific Islands Charitable Trust Inc of Whangarei: towards carving a Pacific pou for the new Whangarei Central Library, to be opened in February 2006
$5000 to the Waikato Museum of Art and History of Hamilton: towards costs of a catalogue to accompany an exhibition, Letters to the Ancestors, showcasing the work of Pacific and Màori artists and coinciding with the World Indigenous People's Conference in Education in Hamilton from 27 November to 1 December.
$6000 to Ole Maiava (Samoan) and Darryl Thomson (Màori) of Auckland: towards a short documentary about Màori artist George Nuku's art installation, Out of Space Marae, to be installed for the opening of Pasifika Styles, an exhibition in Cambridge, England opening in April 2006. The artists plan to have the documentary ready for screening towards the close of Pasifika Styles in late 2007.
ENDS