Bold Pasifika art showcase reclaiming and empowering

A bold Pasifika art showcase in the CBD is creating a wave of empowerment within the Polynesian community, believe the artists.

Luca Walton and Tai Nimo created the collaboration project in honour of Pasifika month to serve as a celebration of heritage, culture and natural bodies.

Walton says he is ‘over the moon’ with the response to the showcase and thinks part of his intention as an artist is to reclaim the way western artists illustrate Pasifika people and particularly women.

“I definitely feel the need to create art that reminds me of where I’m from and lets me see that too,” he says.

“This showcase really proves that brown bodies do not need to be altered to be deserving of such a large scale display and acceptance.”

It comes as 2022 is the second year that two of the largest Pasifika festivals held in Auckland have been cancelled or minimised due to COVID restrictions.

Pasifika festival and Polyfest attract up to 60,000 people annually, and feature cultural performances from people of all ages.

For a lot of Pasifika people these events are the closest they get to representation on a wider scale according to Samoan student Ngāreta Teira-Tuiloma.

“A lot of people underestimate how important it is to see yourself in media,” she says.

“It definitely makes a difference, if you think about how all the brown kids felt when Moana was released, it’s the same type of feeling.”

The Pasifika showcase is at the Ellen Melville Centre until end of May.