Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival

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Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival 2020

Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival is an annual arts festival held in Gisborne, New Zealand. The festival is about celebrating the 'artistry, talent and storytelling' of the East Coast region.[1]

Background

The chief executive and artistic director is Tama Waipara.[2] Waipara has said of the festival: "Having a place to tell stories that are formed of place is about reinstalling our narratives into the fabric of the landscape".[1]

The first festival was held in 2019 and coincided with

Manutuke, Gisborne. It was launched by Tama Waipara, Teina Moetara and Mere Boynton, with music by Annie Crummer and Te Tira Hapori o Manutuke choir.[4]

The festival is supported by the Trust Tairāwhiti (formerly Eastland Community Trust).[4][5] In 2020, Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival received a one off Creative and Cultural Events Incubator investment grant from the New Zealand Government.[6]

Programme

2019

The byline of the inaugural festival was ‘We are of this Place and its People’.[4] True to this was the premiere of the play Witi’s Wāhine starring four women from the region Mere Boynton, Roimata Fox, Ani-Piki Tuari and Ngapaki Moetara, they were being characters from Witi Ihimarea's books drawn from the region.[7] Witi's Wāhine was written and directed by Nancy Brunning (1971–2019) and produced by Tanea Heke (Hapai Productions).[8][9] The opening outdoor event was Maui Pūtahi directed by Teina Moetara.[10] There was an outdoor concert at Gisborne Soundshell called Under an East Coast Moon, featuring performances by Teeks, Rob Ruha, Maisey Rika, Dave Dobbyn, Anika Moa and Annie Crummer.[10]

View over the river to the Lawson Field Theatre and the festival hub 2020

2020

The programme in October 2020 was designed to allow involvement from a range of people in Gisborne.[11] The programme included Troll by Trick of the Light Theatre, short films and a youth filmmaking workshop by Maoriland, Reid & Ruins (Nadia Reid and Hollie Fullbrook), Turanga: The Land of Milk and Honey produced by the Rongowhakaata Iwi Trust and Every Brilliant Thing, starring Anapela Polatai’vao produced by Silo Theatre.[12] The festival attracted over 12,000 people with 61% of ticket buyers under the age of 45.[5][13]

2021

Programmed for 2021 were over 200 artists and performers.[14] Events included Homecoming Queens with Jackie Clarke (MNZM), Sandy Mill and Bronwyn Turei.[14] The free event on the river bank Te Ara i Whiti was repeated from previous years – an exhibition of contemporary Māori art this year curated by Melanie Tangaere Baldwin. It featured art by Chevron Hassett, Erena Koopu, Fiona Collis, Johnny Moetara, Maungarongo (Ron) Tekawa, Steve Gibbs, Taupuruariki (Ariki) Brightwell, Tāwera Tahuri, Terangi Roimata Kutia-Tataurangi and others. The October 2021 programme was split with the spread of the COVID-19 variant Delta in August with some of the programme postponed to February 2022. It included Troy Kingi, Delaney Davidson and Tami Neilson. This was all cancelled late January 2022 with COVID-19 variant Omicron causing New Zealand to go into the red setting of the COVID-19 Protection Framework.[15][13]

2022

In 2022 the festival presented Te Ara i Whiti, a collecting of art light displays during Matarki for the first time.[16][17]

References

  1. ^ a b "'Written in the stars': Te Tairāwhiti festival to focus on Māori, Pasifika relationship". RNZ. 29 July 2021. Archived from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  2. ^ "Tama Waipara – Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival". Waatea News: Māori Radio Station. 14 October 2021. Archived from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  3. ^ Cleave, Wendy. "Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival, 2020". Gizzy Local. Archived from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  4. ^ a b c "Te Tairawhiti Arts Festival is coming to town". Gizzy Local. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival". Trust Tairāwhiti. Archived from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  6. ^ "Creative and Cultural Events Incubator investment recipients". Major Events. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  7. ^ Brooks, Sam (10 October 2019). "Nga mihi mahana: A weekend at the Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival". The Spinoff. Archived from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  8. ^ "Witi's Wāhine returns to the theatre stage". Māori Television. Archived from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  9. ^ Live, Auckland. "Witi's Wāhine". Auckland Live. Archived from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  10. ^ a b "Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival Opening Weekend". SOUNZ. 17 October 2019. Archived from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  11. ^ "Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival". Australian Performing Arts Market. Archived from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  12. ^ "Tairawhiti Arts Festival 2020". Gisborne Herald. Archived from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  13. ^ a b "Popular Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival splits into two separate events due to Covid-19". Stuff. 22 September 2021. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  14. ^ a b "Three Picks from Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival". Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts. Archived from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  15. ^ Marshall, Jack. "Tairawhiti Arts, First Light Wine and Food festivals canned as Omicron spreads". Gisborne Herald. Archived from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  16. ^ "Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival festival to feature music and lights". RNZ. 13 July 2022. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  17. ^ "Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival 2022". Gizzy Local. 10 August 2022. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
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