Pasifika artists from throughout New Zealand are being invited to attend ARTSpeak Pasifika, a national forum for the development of Pacific arts in Auckland on 25-26 June 2010.
 

Hosted by Creative New Zealand, ARTSpeak Pasifika aims to bring together Pasifika artists working across the disciplines of visual arts, performing arts, literature, film and television, music and heritage arts so they can share their experiences and skills.
 

“Having such a broad range of Pasifika artists in one place is an opportunity for the sector to build on the success of Pacific arts over the last decade and plan for the future,” says Creative New Zealand’s Pacific Arts Committee Chair Pele Walker.
 

“Many artists will be meeting for the first time so we hope it will also be a catalyst for developing new networks for collaborative work.”
 

Keynote speaker will be Albert Wendt, internationally recognised as a leader in the development of New Zealand and Pacific literature, and an Emeritus Professor at the University of Auckland.
 

The forum will include panel discussions on:

• making a living as a fulltime artist
• how to develop work for international markets
• how organisations can help Pacific arts development
• what future Pasifika artists need to succeed

Participants will also be invited to participate in workshops to identify the barriers they face in pursuing a career and discuss how these might be overcome.
 

“As well as opportunities for artists to share ideas and be inspired, Creative New Zealand will outline how it can support Pacific projects through specific funding or by facilitating opportunities to develop their skills through initiatives like ARTSpeak Pasifika,” says Pele.
 

“The last national conference for Pasifika artists was held more than a decade ago and since that time many of the then emerging artists have become established as leaders in their artistic field.
 

“They have a huge amount of knowledge and emerging artists can learn much from their experience and we can look to support our future leaders in the Pacific arts.”
 

The cost of taking part in the two-day forum is $30 and the number of participants is limited to 150. A limited number of travel subsidies will be available from Creative New Zealand to assist those travelling from outside the Auckland region.
 

For more information and to register visit the ARTspeak page on our website.