Dr Pooneh Torabian, a Canadian of Iranian heritage, is a lecturer in the Department of Tourism at the University of Otago. Her approach to research aims to expose injustices and inequalities, focusing on mobilities injustice, citizenship, migration, arts and leisure, and storytelling. Keep Reading
Auckland dancer and Touch Compass member Lusi Faiva has won or been highly commended for several awards in the last year. Keep Reading
“I want more than inclusion. I want equity and an arts sector committed to including disability artistry in its annual programme of works rather than a tick-box measure or one-off accessible performance.” Keep Reading
Expressing yourself through art is an essential part of life. You don't have to be a fine artist to create art. If it pleases you and makes you happy then you need to do it," says Faye Wulff, Co-ordinator of Community Art Works in Nelson. Keep Reading
The gafa or whakapapa and story of Wellington artist Hedy (Heidi Ankers) is vast. Her father was English/Norwegian and her mother English/Samoan. “Poor Mum. She was a singer attending University in Auckland and Dad whisked her away into obscurity to the Bay of Plenty to have a horde of children. I am the sixth of 16, nine of whom survived... Keep Reading
Judith Jones’ involvement in audio description and with Arts Access Aotearoa since 2014 have been key elements in her kete as she continues to develop as an advocate for access and inclusion in the arts. Keep Reading
Tim Bray QSM founded what became the Tim Bray Theatre Company in 1991 at the age of 27. Nearly 30 years on, it’s about to stage its one-hundredth professional production, an adaptation of Joy Cowley’s Greedy Cat. Keep Reading
Rue-Jade Morgan initially assumed he must have done something wrong when a prison psychologist greeted him with the words “So you’re Jade!” the first time the two of them met. But it quickly became clear that far doing from anything wrong the psychologist’s remark reflected his admiration for the many things Jade was doing right. Keep Reading
Being part of Northland Region Corrections Facility’s Redemption Performing Arts whānau and also training as an arts mentor with the prison’s Tuakana Teina peer mentoring programme has been life-changing for Sanity. Keep Reading
Even as a toddler Wellington performing artist Duncan Armstrong couldn’t stop dancing to music and once he got a taste of acting at primary school he was hooked. Keep Reading
After “pimping” a jacket for the Pimp My Jacket competition organised by Hutt Valley mental health support group MIX in 2018, Wellington artist Rosemarie Bowers leapt at the chance to pimp a hat for last year’s Get a Hat Get A Head exhibition held to raise awareness of mental health issues. Keep Reading
When the Hamilton-based Arts For Health Community Trust ran weekly “Zui” (Zoom meetings) for its artists during the Covid-19 lockdown, the participants were much more interested in talking to each other than in talking to the staff – and that made programme manager Cass Hendry very happy. Keep Reading
Aucklander Kelly Hodgins’ passion and bubbly personality shine through when she talks about New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) interpreted theatre and other arts events for Deaf people. Keep Reading
“I think of myself as an essential life-saving service but that's an unofficial statement,” Rob Mokaraka says in an email when he’s told that his solo show Shot Bro, due to be performed to men at Rimutaka Prison in two days’ time, has had to be postponed because of COVID-19. Keep Reading
Until eight years ago, Leonie Aben, acting Prison Director of Hawkes Bay Regional Prison, saw arts programmes in prisons as more of an optional extra, a good way of keeping prisoners occupied rather than an integral part of building self-esteem, motivation and a sense of cultural identity. Keep Reading
Arts Access Aotearoa
