We are excited to launch the highly anticipated TAUTAI FALE-SHIP Home Residency digital series!
Follow Elisabeth’s Fale-ship journey this week as she takes us behind the scenes of her incredible stop-motion clips and clever use of wordplay.
Follow Iata this week as he shares the visual language of hiapo through his incredible process of creating tatatau Niue during his Fale-ship residency!
Talitali fiefia! Introducing the mother and daughter duo Tui Emma Gillies and Sulieti Fieme’a Burrows and their Fale-ship experience!
Follow Natasha Ratuva as she shares her home workspace, creative process and reflects on her Fale-ship experience.
FALE-SHIP: Elisabeth Kumaran
Talofa lava! Introducing Samoan/Chinese multi-medium artist Elisabeth Kumaran.
Sāmoan/Chinese
Vailele, Ulutogia, Aleipata, Vailoa Palauli and Southern China
@elisalani |Elisabeth Kumaran
Follow her Fale-ship journey this week as she takes us behind the scenes of her incredible stop-motion clips and clever use of wordplay.
Elisabeth was born in Aukilani (Auckland), raised in South Auckland (Otara, Manurewa) and now resides in Mangere with her husband. She is a multi-medium artist who primarily works with words to create wordplays using the Samoan and English languages. Elisabeth is also co-founder of the ManaRewa Arts Collective where they mentor visual artists who live in (or have connections with) Manurewa to develop and grow in their art practice.
Elisabeth takes us on a journey as she explores her creative space, process and inspiration behind her work from home! Join her as she highlights her creative processes and final stop-motion videos created during her Fale-Ship residency.
Watch Elisabeth’s vlog compilation as she takes us on a journey exploring her creative ideas, processes and inspiration behind her works!
“I think it’s fundamental as an artist to surround yourself with a supportive network of people; whether that’s your aiga, your friends or other creatives who inspire you with creative talanoaga (conversation).”
ELISABETH KUMARAN
We’re excited to share this series of Elisabeth’s final stop-motion videos created during her Fale-ship residency! She reflects on her Samoan culture using everyday objects which are animated through her clever use of wordplay.
Q+A with Elisabeth and INF
“This time has been a real taonga to me. I’ve had this va or this space to reflect on myself as an artist and develop my art practice.”
Q+A Talanoa facilitated by:
Amon ‘INF’ Tyson | @infmusic | @infmusicnz
Artist, Director, Creative. 1 of 5 members of SWIDT
Songwriter/Producer – SWIDT
Samoan/Niuean
312 Onehunga, Aotearoa
View all the FALE-SHIPS here
For more information please email us
#Tautai4lyfe
FALE-SHIP: Iata Peautolu
Fakaalofa lahi atu! Introducing Niuean Māori artist Iata Peautolu!
Niuean/Maori
Tauranga, Aotearoa
@fekaiata | Iata Peautolu
Born and raised in Hamilton, Iata is a multidisciplinary artist who is known for his tamoko and tatatau practice. Inspired by his Maori and Niuean lineage his exhibition ‘Son of A Savage’ featured a combination of imagery from both connections, and also highlighted his skills as an illustrator and painter. The iconography in his work investigates migration and navigation practices from the Pacific, which he uses to develop his visual narratives within his work.
Iata takes pride in his dual heritage which is reflected within his work from tatatau, painting, illustration to graphic design. He draws his creativity from his urban upbringing in Hamilton and the art culture that continues to evolve in this modern world. Iata is a contemporary Polynesian artist whose ambition is to showcase the beauty, strength, dignity and mana of his people through his lens.
Follow Iata this week as he shares the visual language of hiapo through his incredible process of creating tatatau Niue during his Fale-ship residency.
A sneak peek into Iata’s creative process and driving force behind his dedication to Niue tatatau!
Tune in as Iata shares his creative workspace and the process of marking his client with a Hiapo inspired tatatau Niuean sleeve
“…my mahi, it really is a contemporary take on our beautiful hiapo that is a real taonga, a real treasure for us as Niueans…”
– Iata Peautolu
Q+A Talanoa with Iata and INF
So cool to see Pacific creatives inspiring each other!! Watch as INF and Iata connect over the emotional reward of sharing art, being Niuean and Yohji Yamamoto!
Q+A Talanoa facilitated by:
Amon ‘INF’ Tyson| @infmusic | @infmusicnz
Artist, Director, Creative. 1 of 5 members of SWIDT
Songwriter/Producer – SWIDT
Samoan/Niuean
312 Onehunga, Aotearoa
swidt.co.nz
View all the FALE-SHIPS here
For more information please email us
#Tautai4lyfe
FALE-SHIP: Tui Emma Gillies & Sulieti Fieme’a Burrows
Talitali fiefia! Introducing the mother and daughter duo Tui Emma Gillies and Sulieti Fieme’a Burrows!
Tongan | Falevai, Vava’u / NZ
Northland & South Auckland, Aotearoa
Instagram | Facebook | Tui’s Website | Sulieti’s Email
Tui Emma Gillies & Sulieti Fieme’a Burrows are New Zealand based Tongan artists specialising in tapa art. Their work mixes can be challenging, confronting and controversial, but always with respect to the roots of the medium and the ancestors who practised it before them.
They have received grants from Creative New Zealand towards collaborative art projects and were the recipients of the Creative New Zealand Heritage Art Award in 2018. They have exhibited and presented their work across the globe and sold works to private buyers, including The Royal Academy of Art in London (during Oceania) The National Gallery of Victoria Melbourne, The University of Hawaii Hilo and Auckland Museum. Sulieti was recently made an MNZM in the New Zealand New Year’s honours.
Specialising in tapa art, the pair shares a deep dive into their creative processes throughout their Fale-ship residency.
Tui & Sulieti share insights into their creative processes and context behind their new artwork after coming out of lockdown!
Watch this behind-the-scenes time lapse of Tui & Sulieti creating their incredible new work!
– Tui Emma Gillies
“How do Pacific Islanders deal with isolation? The answer is simple: Fāmili”
The final tapa piece completed by Tui & Sulieti during their Fale-ship residency, a new artwork entitled Fāmili
Detail of Fāmili | Tui Emma Gillies & Sulieti Fieme’a Burrows 
Detail of Fāmili | Tui Emma Gillies & Sulieti Fieme’a Burrows
Q+A Talanoa with Tui, Sulieti & Benji Timu
Q+A Talanoa facilitated by:
Benji Timu | @thelifestyleofbenji | @BenjiTimu
Filmmaker/Architect
Sāmoan/Kuki Airani/Niue | Letogo/Aitutaki/Mangaia
East Auckland, Aotearoa
BT: “How important is it to showcase the lived experience of Moana artists?”
Excerpt from Talanoa
TG: “I think it’s really important, we’ve got a lot of stories to pass down, …stories that we’ve been told from our elders and ancestors, and their stories need to be shared and told so they’re not lost…”
View all the FALE-SHIPS here
For further information please
27/07/2020
FALE-SHIP: Natasha Ratuva
Ni sa bula vinaka! Introducing photographer, digital artist and poet Natasha Ratuva.
Natasha Ratuva | @dotnut2014
Fijian | Naioti, Kadavu
Tribal and ancestral affiliation: Navutu
Central Auckland, Aotearoa
Follow as she shares her home workspace, creative process and reflects on her Fale-ship experience.
Born and raised in Suva, Fiji. Natasha was also raised in Australia, U.S, NZ and the U.K. Her parents, both Fijian intellectuals, activists, philosophers, academic, art lovers both contemporary and traditional in their approach to raising her and her brother.
This heavily influenced the lens with which she perceived creativity. The art that she creates today is largely inspired by being raised as an Indigenous Fijian woman in a post-colonial society. She loves to celebrate the oneness of indigenous peoples by interrogating the geo-political borders that colonialism has structured around us.
Natasha’s creative expression is also stirred by her search for identity which she wishes to pass down to future generations. Above everything she aims to center her Moana family, connections to land, ocean, lineages and how they have overcome, survived and continue to prosper.
Get an insight into Natasha’s creative workspace and inspiration behind her new artworks!
– Natasha Ratuva
“Our resilience is impenetrable because our joys and struggles are part of a bigger circle of stories that keep us forever bound and woven into Moana.”
Check out these amazing new artworks created by Natasha during her Fale-ship residency!
Mana Moana | Natasha Ratuva 
Peace Making Moana | Natasha Ratuva 
Peace Making Nourished | Natasha Ratuva 
Peace Making Vanua | Natasha Ratuva 
Resilience | Natasha Ratuva
Q+A Talanoa with Natasha Ratuva & Benji Timu
Q+A Talanoa facilitated by:
Benji Timu | @thelifestyleofbenji | @BenjiTimu
Filmmaker/Architect
Sāmoan/Kuki Airani/Niue | Letogo/Aitutaki/Mangaia
East Auckland, Aotearoa
BT: “How does it feel to be showcasing your work from home?“
Excerpt from Talanoa
NR: “It feels relieving, the comfort factor of being in my own space… It also feels very intimate… even sacred.”
View all the FALE-SHIPS here
For further information please Tautai.org #tautai4lyfe
About: Fale-ships
We have launched the highly anticipated Tautai Fale-ship Home Residency digital series!
TAUTAI FALE-SHIP Home Residencies will feature 20 Moana artists each week over five months through our website and social media platforms between July – December 2020
FEATURING:
Natasha Ratuva | Tui Emma Gillies & Sulieti Fieme’a Burrows | Iata Peautolu | Elisabeth Kumaran | Lyncia Muller | Sani Muliaumaseali’i | Keva Rands | Jaimie Waititi | Chris Van Doren | Jasmine Tuia | Tuafale Tanoai | Melissa Gilbert | Salvador Brown | Christopher Ulutupu | Fa’amele Etuale | Rawiri Brown | Tyla Vaeau | Michael Mulipola | Ashleigh Taupaki | John Ioane
Moana artists make some of their best work at home; at the kitchen table, in living rooms surrounded by family, in bedrooms and garages, in home studios where we feel safe and connected to those around us. We are constantly creating and thinking of new ideas, informed by the people and places that give life to our creativity.
“Now is the time, more than ever, to celebrate and support artists in our own back yard.”
– Courtney Sina Meredith, Tautai Director
Artists will undertake a 1-week deep dive into exploring the creative processes behind their work and share an insight into their home practice as artists in residence, responding to a period of global transformation through a localised lens. Experienced digitally but grounded in the physical, the TAUTAI FALE-SHIP Home Residencies place value on the everyday experiences of Moana artists operating in their own centres.
This initiative aims to encourage meaningful connections through the digital Moana as we slowly navigate a new sense of normality due to the global pandemic of COVID-19.
Follow our wave as we navigate the digital Moana together:
Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube
For further information please email us
Tautai.org
#LocalThinking #LocalMaking #tautai4lyfe