WOMAD New Zealand Announces A New Partnership On A Mission To Showcase And Celebrate Māori Culture, Traditions & Stories

Māoritanga is being woven deeper into the fabric of New Zealand’s award-winning WOMAD festival.

The festival has announced a new partnership with kaupapa Māori organisation Tui Ora.

The longtime festival partner has signed on as an Event Partner for WOMAD New Zealand, joining TSB, and elevating the celebration of Māori culture, traditions and stories.

As well as giving WOMAD audiences the opportunity to connect more meaningfully with Te Ao Māori, Tui Ora Pou Tū Kūrae (CE) Alana Ruakere (Taranaki/Te Atiawa), says the partnership will make the popular festival accessible to more Taranaki whānau.

“WOMAD is all about the beauty and value of diverse cultures and lived experiences. That’s an empowering perspective for the whānau we work with to see,” she said.

“We are looking forward to inviting whānau, who might not otherwise get the opportunity, to join us and experience WOMAD’s joyous inclusivity first-hand and see Te Ao Māori celebrated as the taonga it is.”

TAFT CEO Suzanne Porter said the festival organisers were thrilled an existing partner was taking over the space previously held by Todd Energy.

“We’ve celebrated a long partnership with Tui Ora that has generated several great initiatives and this new level of partnership will be a powerful vehicle for celebrating Māori culture.”

“There are strong synergies between WOMAD’s ethos of manaakitanga, giving stage to indigenous voices, and Tui Ora’s whānau-centric wellbeing initiatives that make this a partnership made in heaven.”

The 2024 festival will mark 17 years of WOMAD partnering with Tui Ora and the move to Event Partner level comes with plans to refresh and amplify Te Paepae’s presence and offering at the festival.

WOMAD NZ’s Iwi Liaison Manager Wharehoka Wano describes Te Paepae as the cultural heart of the festival, and “a welcoming space for artists and attendees, where Māori culture and specifically Taranaki Māori narratives are woven into the WOMAD experience through workshops, activities and performances.”

As much as Te Paepae is about Māori culture it’s also a celebration of multiculturalism and the home of WOMAD’s artist workshops – a true salute to indigenous people and practices from throughout the globe.

In August Jamaica’s Grammy-winning reggae icon Ziggy Marley was announced for WOMAD NZ 2024. The full artist lineup for the three-day festival will be revealed at the end of October, including the Te Paepae programme.

• WOMAD NZ 2024: Friday March 15 to Sunday March 17, at Brooklands Park and the TSB Bowl of Brooklands in Ngāmotu / New Plymouth. Tickets are on sale now from www.womad.co.nz

Tui Ora

Tui Ora empowers whānau to live well and lead powerful lives. Well-known and trusted throughout Taranaki thanks to its 25-year track-record, Tui Ora delivers whānau-friendly health and social services — with a kaupapa Māori focus. Services and programmes are designed to meet the needs of whānau in mana-affirming ways and ultimately deliver more equitable health outcomes for Māori.

WOMAD New Zealand 
WOMAD - World of Music, Arts and Dance – is one of the longest-running, best culturally established festivals on the planet. The festival began in the UK in 1982, intending to celebrate diverse cultures and their artistic offerings from around the globe.

Since that first event, more than 160 WOMAD festivals have been held in 27 countries and islands all over the world, including everywhere from Abu Dhabi to the US, Australia to Sardinia, Canada to South Africa – and, of course, New Zealand.

Always family-oriented, WOMAD festivals are the ultimate culmination of sounds, scenery, and good vibes. Through festivals, community events, and educational projects, we aim to excite, delight, and open minds to the worth and potential of a multicultural society.

“WOMAD has offered many audiences an insight into cultures other than their own through the enjoyment of music – drawing people and artists together, proving, as well as anything, the stupidity of racism,” says Peter Gabriel, co-founder of WOMAD.

WOMAD NZ 2024 will be the 21st presentation of WOMAD at the beautiful Brooklands Park and TSB Bowl of Brooklands. The festival announced in August that eight-time Grammy-winning reggae icon Ziggy Marley will be performing at the 2024 festival. The full artist lineup is due to be announced by the end of October, including the Te Paepae programme.

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