Explosive, daring, loud, confronting, intense, non-stop, body, in your face, gender, storytelling, identity, decolonisation, indigenising space, young fafine, the future. 

 

As a part of Art Week 2019 I was invited by Tautai to curate a night of performances. Activating the Moana was centered around the provocation of how do our bodies tell our stories, our activism, our divine feminity. Being an emerging artist myself I felt it was important to share this space with young brown Pasifika womxn who are also navigating their paths in the art world. It is time we create our own spaces for our own people and in our own time. 

 

This cast of fafine included:

Gaptoothboo otherwise known as Melissa Aluesi who is a multidisciplinary artist that uses performance and the art of bondage. The work presented involved intense connection that forced the audience to become mentally still. "Claim Sanctuary" explored fragility and resilience of the feminine spirit. 

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Founded on sisterhood WTTW, Tamia Filipo and Kaysee Savali are movement artists that navigate through issues they face daily as young brown women in the arts. Being a part of a wider collective, they believe dance is more than just an art form, but a form of release, connection and expression. The piece they presented brought forth an organic energy into the space. They connected with the audience who brought their own to create a unique synergy between all. 

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BloodMothers was the final collective to end the evening off with a statement. These collaborative works of instinctual expressionists, Samara Alofa and Pipiana Hēmi included reclamation, traditional drums, ritual, activations and multidisciplinary activism that awakens the womb of Papatūānuku, by birthing entities left dormant in the cracks of industrial dissimulation.  

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