Pacific Arts Committee

The Pacific Arts Committee is responsible for developing New Zealand’s Pacific arts and artists. It invests in contestable funding, develops initiatives, and delivers tailored programmes to support Pacific artists and communities.

MEMBERS

Pele Walker, Chair (Samoa), is a Wellington based mediator. She is an experienced Director and manager with governance, business and strategic planning skills. Her work background includes senior management experience in human resources, industrial relations and dispute resolution.

Pele has a wide knowledge of professional and community arts, with a particular interest in dance and theatre. She was the founding chair of the Wellington branch of PACIFICA Inc. and is active in developing strategies supporting Pacific women. Pele holds an MBA and a BA (Hons) from Victoria University.

Fuimaono Karl Pulotu-Endemann (Samoa) has worked at the forefront of the Pacific Island community in New Zealand for more than 20 years. He was one of the first Pacific Registered Comprehensive nurses in New Zealand. During the 1980s he created and developed the Fonofale Model of Health, accepted as the model of Pacific mental health by the Mental Health Commission of NZ. He subsequently became the first Pacific person to represent Pacific people on the Mental Health Commission. Karl also became one of the first Pacific Island persons to achieve senior management status in the New Zealand Polytechnic system, during which time he established the Post Graduate Forensic Psychiatric Care Course at Manawatu Polytechnic. Karl has been a keynote speaker on issues of Mental Health, Sexuality and HIV/AIDS at conferences in India, Hawaii, Samoa, Australia and New Zealand. In 1990 Karl became one of the first two Pacific Island Justices of the Peace appointed in Palmerston North. Karl was a founding trustee of the Pacific Island AIDS Trust (1989), founding Council Member for Manawatu Tangata Pasefika Council (1990), Mafutaga A Uso Fa'afafine ma Aiga(1996). Over the years Karl has worked with various community groups and assisted in policy formation on issues of Sexuality, Mental Health and Transgenderism.

Tigilau Ness (Niue) is a poet, composer, musician and reggae artist. In 2009, Tigilau was awarded the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award at the 5th Pacific Music Awards in recognition of more than 30 years contributing to the arts of Pacific peoples through music in New Zealand. Born in Ponsonby, Tigilau speaks fluent Niuean and is passionate about passing this on to his children and grandchildren. For most of his life, he has been involved in social and civil issues affecting Pacific communities. He has worked with many artists and musicians including Herbs and is a founder of pan-Pacific kiwi band ‘Pacific Unity.’ A documentary about his life From Street to Sky (2008) was screened on Māori Television as well as the New Zealand International Film Festival and other festivals overseas. The father of music icon Che Fu, Tigilau has a strong belief in kaupapa Pasifika and the maintenance of the Niuean language and cultural identity. He believes he can contribute to the Pacific Arts Committee through ‘integrity, commitment, loyalty, passion, patience, insight and a Pacific vision’ for the future.

Kolokesa Māhina-Tuai (Tonga) has a BA in Art History and Anthropology and a MA (Hons) in Museums and Heritage Studies. Kolokesa is interested in the tangible and intangible heritage of the Pacific, with a specific focus on Tonga and the history of Pacific Peoples in New Zealand. As Curator of Pacific Cultures at Te Papa (from 2004-2008), she co-curated the major permanent Pacific exhibition Tangata o le Moana: The Story of Pacific People in New Zealand. She also explored how the intangible heritage of Pacific cultures could be included in Te Papa’s Pacific collections which led to the inclusion of intangible heritage in Te Papa's Collection Development Policy. Kolokesa is also part of Kula-'Uli Publishing (New Zealand), a voluntary group set up to produce a series of bilingual Tongan and English language children's books based on Tonga's rich cultural and intangible heritage of myths and legends. She was also an external assessor for Creative New Zealand 2005-2007. Most recently she was Project Manager of ‘Mamas and Museums: Pacific Women’s Fine Arts and Museums Forum and Workshop’ for Auckland Council’s Pacific Arts Summit 2011. She has also been Project Manager for an art commission of Tongan women’s arts group by Queensland Art Gallery in 2011.

Marama Papau (Tuvalu) is an award winning broadcaster with many years leading her Tuvaluan community in heritage and contemporary arts activities. Marama is passionate about the maintenance of her community’s Pasifika identity in modern New Zealand and is currently project managing a Tuvaluan dance project with youth that will create online web videos to make her culture and language accessible to younger people and a global internet audience. She has a strong belief in using new digital tools to reach and engage with the youthful Pacific demographics while maintaining the support of elders. She has also worked in contemporary theatre in production, marketing and research. Currently, Marama is a director and presenter for TVNZ Tagata Pasifika programme. Since joining the television team in 2005, she has filmed in New Zealand and the Pacific Islands on various stories including culture and the arts as well as iconic events such as Pasifika festivel and Polyfest. She has also worked in Pacific media as a radio announcer, reporter and newsreader on both Radio 531 PI and Niu FM, the national radio for Pasifika peoples in New Zealand. Her radio projects have won her awards over the years including 2010 NZ Radio Award ‘Best Daily/Weekly Series Under Hour Duration’ for Te Puutake Radio Show.

Caren Rangi (Cook Islands) is an experienced public sector governance practitioner, with a passion for Cook Islands Maori dance, music and cultural history. Caren is a qualified accountant and auditor who owns and operates Ei Mua Consulting Ltd. Her company provides consulting services in auditing, facilitation and training, primarily with organisations seeking to develop Pacific communities. Caren currently serves as a board member of New Zealand on Air (the Broadcasting Commission) and of the Pacific Island Homecare Services Trust Board. She is also a trustee of the Pacific Business Trust and the Eastern and Central Community Trust. Caren was a founding board member of the National Pacific Radio Trust, and is currently President of the Tiare Ahuriri Napier branch of P.A.C.I.F.I.C.A. Caren’s love of Cook Islands culture is reflected in her role as judge of Te Eiva Nui, an annual Cook Islands Maori dance competition, and in her membership as a dancer and singer in the Aitutaki Enua Hawke’s Bay Association Culture Group.

Susan Elliott was born in Suva, Fiji Islands. Susan married a New Zealand Foreign Affairs Officer and from the mid 80s spent 14 years raising a young family and accompanying her husband on overseas missions. During this time she developed an appreciation of the cultures of other countries and the arts including theatre, music, crafts and visual arts.

Susan undertook a national diploma in craft, art and design in 2000. She went on to study at Wanganui Regional Polytechnic (now known as UCOL) where she gained a Bachelor of Fine Arts majoring in visual arts and printmaking. After this she received her Postgraduate Diploma in Museum Studies through Massey University in 2003.

Most recently Susan has worked as a librarian for Wellington City Libraries. She feels the work feeds her creative spirit, “As an institution, the library is a place for ideas. Those ideas feed into whatever personal research I have percolating quietly in the background for my art practice. So I see myself as part of a long line of artists and literary figures who have used the library not only for paid work but as a place for inspiration”.  

Susan has volunteered at Te Papa, was part of the Niue Writers Group (1997), and is a member of Artist Alliance and the Wellington Fiji Community.