Resource: Ngā Hua Toi
An advocacy project for Māori theatre & dance practitioners across Aotearoa (New Zealand)
Ngā Hua Toi is a project created at a gathering of The G8. They are a group of theatre and dance producers who advocate for Māori dance and theatre in New Zealand.
It is a collaboration with Creative New Zealand which provides support and guidance to Māori arts practitioners.
The project aims to remove barriers that Māori practitioners face when seeking funding and support.
On their Facebook page you can access a community, events listing and directory of Māori arts practitioners.
They also offer a selection of excellent videos that introduce topics of interest to any emerging producer.
At the time of writing the videos include:
- Pitching & Opportunities with Tama Waipara (CEO & Artistic Director at Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival, musician and composer)
- Producing 101 with Dolina Wehipehihana (former head of programming at Auckland Arts Festival and independent producer at Betsy & Mana Productions.)
- Grant Writing 101 with Marama Lloyd (Executive Director & Producer at Atamira Dance Company)
- Arts Marketing 101 with Vanessa Immink (Project Producer for Ngā Hua Toi, Independent Producer, Arts Manager and Marketer)
If you are an aspiring producer and you whakapapa to te iwi Māori, I suggest you get in touch with Ngā Hua Toi. For those of us who are Pākehā (non-Māori New Zealanders) or from another country, there is still a lot to be gained by just watching the videos.
A note for readers who aren’t familiar with New Zealand.
Māori are the indigenous people of Aotearoa (New Zealand). The content I’ve recommended here is partially delivered in Te Reo Māori (the Māori language). But all videos are clearly subtitled in English.
I am Pākehā and have tried to be as accurate as possible in the use of Te Reo Māori. I apologise if I have made mistakes and welcome feedback.