A Brand New Year at the Māoriland Hub
2018 was a big year for Māoriland and the Hub. Along with hosting a huge number of functions, we also get requests from folk asking about our plans for the future. We spent much of last year finding a way to generate the resources we need to use our amazing building in the best way possible.
2019 will be a bigger year because all our plans are starting to fall into place. One sign of that are a couple of new faces who – along with Libby, Maddy, Tania, Pat, Moko, Brendan and Tainui – will make up our team this year.
We are excited to welcome Bernie Keenan, Maakarita Paku and Ariah Kapa. We’re so happy to have these new kaimahi join our Māoriland kaupapa. E mihi nui atu ana e hoa mā.
Our small team has sought and succeeded in finding funding to run a wide range of programmes and activities. It is important to use our unique Hub facility in ways that the community find interesting. Screenings, performances, exhibitions and events are certainly part of what we do. So too is film training programme for rangatahi from around the country. We also have taken first steps in an ambitious plan to landscape our property for comfort and environmental awareness. And there’s much more yet to come.
Our first newbie is Bernie Keenan. She’s a long time Ōtaki local who has been a staunch fan of all the films our festival has shared over the years. Bernie is a whizz at things like spreadsheets, financial reports and all the other detailed documentation that an organisation like Māoriland requires. She will be our Kaiwhakarite, Hub Administrator.
Our next new face in the whānau is Maakarita Paku. Maa is another local and well known member of our community. She has a background in arts and management and is ideally placed to bring her skills and contacts to Māoriland. Her job is to be our Kaitiaki Toi, our Arts Facilitator. Keep an eye out for the celebrations of the visual and performing arts that will be guided by her efforts.
And finally Ariah Kapa. She will be working closely with Maddy as our Rangatahi Co-ordinator. Already our young filmmakers have been busy this year. Ari is also the producer of a short film written and directed by two of our Ngā Pakiaka filmmakers. We are certain local and national audiences will love the results of their work. Ari is moving from Te Kao in the far north to live the Kāpiti Coast life.
Maakarita Paku
Kaitiaki Toi
Muriwhenua, Te Aitanga a Hauiti, Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Kahungunu, Lakota Oyate
E nga rau rangatira, ngā reo taketake o te rohe, te motu me te ao huri noa, tīhewa mauri ora!
Ka moe i a Adrian Davis nō Ngāti Kapumanawawhiti rāua ko Ngāti Tukorehe. Ka puta ngā tamariki tokowaru me te mokopuna tuatahi, ngā hononga o Tainui Tākitimu waka.
The role of Kaitiaki Toi is an opportunity to work in collaboration on the creative edge facilitating indigenous art and design through storytelling. Committed to advancing the potential and development of our people, the Māoriland Film Festival is where ideas become reality.
32 years in the creative sector as an artist and business manager has provided valuable experience and insights along the way. To be part of a team at the Māoriland Hub builds capacity to contribute and help grow the future of the arts in a meaningful way.
Nāku iti nei
Maa
Bernie Keenan
Kaiwhakahaere – Administrator
After living in Perth, Western Australia for 18 years, I moved back to Aotearoa in 2007 and up to Otaki in 2009. I love living here in our paradise and have been inspired by the vibrancy, activity and hope generated by the Maoriland Charitable Trust’s initiatives; along with the other fantastic events, projects and enterprises in our community. I am so excited to have joined the team and feel extremely fortunate and humbled by the warm welcome I’ve received. It truly feels like a gift to be a part of this journey.
I’m looking forward to learning more and aiding MCT’s vision for the future with my admin skills, so that the organisation continues to grow and thrive to continue to provide opportunities for everyone in our community; particularly our rangatahi.
Mai i te purapura ka tipu te rakau kaha.
Aree Kapa
Rangatahi Co-ordinator
Ko Tawhitirahi toku maunga
Ko Awapoka te awa
Ko Parengrenga te moana
Ko Mamari te waka
Ko Ruanui te tangata
Ko Potahi te marae
Ko Waimirirangi-haere-ki-te-ra te wharenui
Ko Te Aupouri te iwi
No Te Kao ahau
Ko Tui Kapa toku mama
Ko Harry Kapa toku papa
Ko Ariah Kapa toku ingoa
My name is Ariah Kapa and I am the new rangatahi coordinator at Māoriland Charitable Trust. I hail from a small town at the very tip of the North Island, called Te Kao, otherwise known as paradise. I grew up in a town similar to Ōtaki called Kaitaia where I went to school. In 2016 I made the big move to Hamilton to undertake a Bachelor of Arts in Screen & Media Studies. During my 3 years of study at Waikato University I came across many life changing opportunities and one of these was taking part in the Through Our Lens rangatahi leadership filmmaking programme run by the Māoriland Charitable Trust. I got the opportunity to travel to Tahiti in November last year with Māoriland and meet a number of inspiring people who continue ot mentor me as a filmmaker. This year I also had the opportunity to travel to Rarotonga with the second of the Through Our Lens programmes. I was one the rangatahi co-oridnator this time around and witnessed the growth in film and leadership skills of the four rangatahi Māori including two from Ōtaki; Paeone Thatcher and Oriwa Hakaraia. We worked together to organise and run workshops overseas with rangatahi in Aitutaki and Rarotonga. The films we all made will be premiering at Māoriland 2019. I can honestly say that the experiences I’ve had with Māoriland so far have really set me up for my career in the filmmaking industry.
As rangatahi coordinator for the Māoriland Charitable Trust I will be running the rangatahi filmmakers group called Ngā Pakiaka (The Roots) for aspiring filmmakers aged 12-25. Ngā Pakiaka provides hands-on opportunity within the Māoriland film festival as well as watching and reviewing a whole bunch of indigenous films from all around the world. Māoriland will also be launching M.A.T.C.H, the Māoriland Creative Tech Hub for rangatahi to experience the world of video gamemaking, app development, coding, animation and so much more! Not only that, but we will also have E Tu Whanau filmmaking workshops running later this year too where rangatahi can come along, learn and make their own films!