Navigating Spaces

Talofa Lava

I hope everyone is well with the year running up to meet us.
October has been actioned packed with the seeing and hearing the fruits of the young poets of Navigating Spaces. I blogged about this programme last month, October was truley their time to shine with their community showase held at Youthline Manukau and the filming of one poem each for an exhibition in Auckland Museum, URBANLIFE.

The showcase was a mix of family, friends, friends of friends and school communities. The response was massive, with our young poets providing brave and honest poems about what it means for them to be Urban Pacific youth in Tamaki Makarau. There we many teary ears, laughs, quiet moments of deep thoughts by the audiences. All 8 poet were able to provide a landscape of the different experiences of what it is like and means to grow up as Pasifika youth in Aotearoa. One particular comment by a an audience member was, “I have never felt I belonged, never felt brown, until tonight”. That sense of belonging, to hear your story creatively worded by another person is so profound.

My next blog will provide a full coverage of the Auckland Museum URBANLIFE Project.

“Urbanlife is a chance to hear Auckland youth express their vision for the city’s future. Responding directly to the Auckland Macro Report 2011 six groups of rangatahi (15-24yrs) from across the city are tackling the big issues: employment, housing, culture, education, economic well-being and environment”.

The creative expressions of these reponses to the collections and the issues above delivered by way of exhbitions in the Museum, which are free to view till the end of November. Navigating Spaces have their poems playing in the Pacific Masterpieces collections, projected on a wall with a sound shell.

Here is a little teaser

WOD recipent Te Rawhitiroa Bosch also facilaited one of these groups using photography to responsed to Education. Check this out

Darryl DLT Thompson (graff artist and Aotearoa Hip Hop Pioneer) group responded to the enviroment

Artist Siliga Setoga worked with his group to respond to youth employment

I highly recommend you check URBANLIFE out while you can. Take as many young people as you can.

This month I also had a informative and fun consulation session with 2 of the English teachers we have faciliated spoken word poetry workshops with to gain input into the best practice toolkit I am currently developing.

On a personal note, I was able to visit my fiance in Hawaii (Daren Kamali), who is currently on a 3 month Fullbright and CNZ Pacific Writers Residency at the Universty of Hawaii, Manoa. I was very priviledged to perform for the Native Voices showcase alongside Daren and some wonderful poets Ku’ualoha Ho’omanawanui and Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner. It also provided me a wonderful invitation for a publisher for my first book. Coming out in 2013. Very exciting.

I will leave you with a final poem, a collaboration poem by some of the poets fo Navigating Spaces.

Navigating
Spaces

Our voices echo our deepest thoughts

in a hope to help others understand who I AM ?

WHERE IM FROM ?

What CULTURE ties all of this together ?

Culture

Identity
A prize possession I cannot grasp

I have not touched or felt with open hands

my palms still remains empty.

I use to feel emptiness forever clinging on to my back
weighing me down.

I use to hear doubt, question who I am?