Marina Alefosio
Fale-ship Home Residency 2021
SummaryPunchy and lyrical Marina weaves words as a way to look back on memories and struggles from a fresh perspective. As a storyteller Marina is multi-disciplinary, using poetry, performance, short stories and rap as her vessel. Marina’s Tautai Fale-ship remembers her late grandmother, drawing from her legacy of love.
Marina Alefosio is a proud Aotearoa-born Samoan storyteller hailing from the villages of Mulifanua, Falefa, Faleasiu and Leauva’a. She is a passionate artist who has performed for the last 11 years in spoken word poetry and music, continuously learning new methods and modes of storytelling with the aim of supporting youth and communities to develop their sense of voice and purpose. She was part of the critically acclaimed South Auckland Poets Collective from 2010-2015 and continuously supports emerging artists and theatre groups through mentoring, workshops and more recently was part of the winning team Godmothers for the 2021 JAFA Slam Poetry teams competition.
Being outside, collaborating with others and simply doing life were the nurturing pillars of Marina’s residency. Documented through vlog style video diaries, Marina shares her Fale-ship journey taking us through the process of developing her poetry performance.
Marina Alefosio - Vlog Diary
Video by NoSix
“One of the beautiful parts about this residency has been the revelations about my process. Once I started to take notice of it, I realised the different elements that nurture my writing and my creativity. Those elements being – nature, talanoa and rest.”
For her 2021 Fale-ship Residency, Marina explores her own creative process and focuses on what factors enable and enrich her creativity. She draws inspiration from her Samoan roots, her aiga, and treasures the sacred feagaiga (covenant) brother-sister relationship she holds with her older brother Aveloa Alefosio (filmmaker).
Marina Alefosio: Fale-ship Highlights
Video by NoSix
“I can’t believe how much my wellbeing has improved; it reminds me of another time in my life where I just got to work on my craft in a residency I did in Canada. And I remember writing down that ‘It felt like I could finally hear myself breathe’… It reminds me that it gives me a sense of fulfillment to do art.”
- Marina Alefosio
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