Transcript
The government arts funding agency Creative New Zealand organised the Pacific Arts Summit 2018 to help develop a Pacific Arts strategy.
One of Creative NZ's Arts Councillors, Victoria University's Luamanuvao Winnie Laban, says the summit is about giving voice to Pacific artists.
"It's very important that they are given the space and the time to talk freely, openly and frankly about their art, about the kind of support that they receive, whether they're positive about it or where there can be improvements."
Creative NZ says the summit will allow artists to express how best to support and develop their practice.
According to poet Karlo Mila, during the opening session, some challenging language were expressed by other matua, or senior, artists about the way Creative NZ operates.
Dr Mila says similar sentiments were voiced by up-and-coming artists.
"One of them was saying, 'Oh no, we don't even want to apply for your Pacific money!' which was interesting. I haven't heard that said out loud very often. And then another person was like, 'I've got this skinny white guy inside of me that's like really entitled and is like - give me all the money',"
One of the so-called up-and-comers, visual artist Tanu Gago, says the Creative NZ funding model presents a barrier to artists.
He says financial assistance needs to be more accessible.
"Often the access to that funding is very difficult and quite challenging and so I think a lot of artists are really invested in conversations about how else they can still find a financially sustainable way to have a practice that doesn't necessarily rely on state funding."
Mr Gago says Creative NZ was established to support artists but the perception held by many from the Pacific is that often the opposite happens.
The inter-disciplinary artist Yuki Kihara says she'd like to see Pacific arts move beyond a palagi world view.
"I would like to see the community move away from the kinds of lives that are imagined for us by others. That we continue to work towards the sovereignty of ourselves, our bodies, of our own community and define ways of how we want to contribute to our community and to the rest of society."
Dancer and choreographer Lemi Ponifasio echoed that sentiment while challenging the purpose of art.
"How does it push us to think in other ways about who we are and outside the reality that has been constructed for us by other people."
Facilitating a Pacific arts agenda at the summit is the role of Fuimaono Karl Pulotu-Endemann.
He says it's an opportunity to set the agenda for the next five years.
"But you know, it needs to be clearly articulated by the artists themselves, what they need, so that it's all in control rather than the outsiders imposing their views about what Pacific art should look like."
Karlo Mila says she appreciates that Creative NZ has been open to criticism; and that it fronted up to listen to the Pacific arts world tell it like it is.
"So that we can have a conversation with each other and lots of laughter but power in the room I think and resonance kind of rippling through the audience and some like... dropped jaws and some like yeah you know fist-pumps"
She says it it's powerful having the Pacific arts community brought together for the summit.
Creative NZ's deputy chair Caren Rangi says it's been eight years since the last arts summit and she's confident they're headed in the right direction.
She says comments during talanoa have been made in the context of the future direction.
"There are some people who've had not great experiences but actually this is about re-setting the relationship with Creative New Zealand and what can that look like from the artist's point of view going forward so I'm feeling excited about things. I'm excited about the support that the artists have shown. I'm excited about the frankness of their comments."
Caren Rangi says Creative NZ have come away from the summit with some better ways to engage with the Pacific arts community, and will work to improve the relationship and refine ways to make funding applications easier.