Tautai Contemporary Pacific Arts Trust launches Moana arts residencies during lockdown

Tautai’s Fale-ship Residency Programme returns in 2021 to support 10 creatives to make and develop new work from home.

Tautai Contemporary Pacific Arts Trust is thrilled to announce the recipients of the Fale-ship Residency programme 2021. A Moana evolution of the word fellowship, the Tautai Fale-ship residencies centre on the everyday making and thinking of Pasifika creatives operating in their own creative centres.  

Initially developed by Tautai in response to Aotearoa’s 2020 Covid-19 lockdown, the Fale-ship Residencies provide support for a two-week residency for ten Tagata Moana creatives living in Aotearoa. The Residencies are open to all Pacific practitioners from across the arts and are granted by a selection panel of industry leaders. 

The 2021 Fale-ship Residency recipients are: Elsie Andrewes (visual arts); Etanah Falagā Talapā (visual arts); ‘Isope ‘Akau’ola (dance); Kalisolaite ‘Uhila (performance art); Kasi Valu (writer); Marina Alefosio (music/poetry); Sione Faletau (visual/sound art); Tai Nimo (visual arts); Warren Paea (photography); and Teremoana Rapley (music).  

Each artist receives a grant of NZD$2,000 to support the development of new or existing projects in their own creative centres. Residencies will take place over September 2021 and at the conclusion of their residency, each of the 2021 Fale-ship Residency recipients will be showcased across Tautai’s platforms between October – December 2021, activating and nurturing the Vā (the energy between) both digitally and physically throughout the community. 

In 2021, the Fale-ship Residencies are also supported by new ambassador organisations: NZ Herald VIVA; Basement Theatre; and The Big Idea. Ambassadors are committed to supporting Tagata Moana Indigenous authorship through diverse and collaborative platforms.  

Tautai Director Courtney Sina Meredith says, “The Fale-ships form part of a deeper kaupapa to bolster the creative expression of Moana artists during this time of great change. We worked hard to adapt our programme during the initial 2020 lockdown with meaningful offerings that I felt had the potential for real impact across the sector.” 

“The residencies are about more than platforming exciting talent during lockdown, they are driven by an indigenous determination to re-centre the power dynamic within the wider arts landscape. The celebration of Moana artists creating within their own sacred spaces is as political as it is beautiful. I cannot wait to see what these residencies inspire in the 10 selected artists and within the Tautai community.” 

The Tautai Fale-ship Residencies are generously supported by Creative New Zealand and Foundation North.