It wouldn’t be a Pasifika celebration without flowers, foliage, singing, dancing, and cheehoos. All were plentiful last night at Te Papa, as the eight Arts Pasifika Awards were announced, received, and livestreamed. The awards have been doled out annually since 1996 by Creative New Zealand to recognise excellence in Pacific arts across a range of artforms and career stages. This year the prize pool amounted to $90,000. Artists are nominated by their communities (or can self-nominate) and assessed by an external panel of peers. 

Samoan baritone Alfred Fonoti-Fuimaono won the Iosefa Enari Memorial Award; multi-talented artist Haanz Fa’avae-Jackson won the Emerging Pacific Artist Award; director of Polyfest Seiuli Terri Leo-Mauu won the Special Recognition Award; Fijian collective dedicated to raising the awareness and revival of Veiqia, The Veiqia Project, won the Pacific Heritage Artist Award; Tejit Records won the Pacific Toa Award; Sofia Tekela-Smith won the Pacific Contemporary Artist Award; global digital platform and furthest-reaching medium for Pasifika arts, The Coconet, won the Pacific Arts Business Award. The big award, Senior Pacific Artist, went to Anapela Polataivao, a proud Samoan from Manurewa, among other things.

Anapela has become a household name since Tinā, the feature film in which she played a teacher in the wake of the Christchurch earthquakes, became a hit here and overseas. But her career, already studded with awards, started long ago. Anapela began acting at eight years old and has never stopped. She graduated from Toi Whakaari in 2000, and formed the theatre group Kila Kokonut Krew with her partner Vela Manusaute in 2002. Their musical about a South Auckland family competing in a local talent quest, The Factory, became a web series in 2014. A few other highlights include directing Wild Dogs Under My Skirt, the theatre adaptation of Tusiata Avia’s poetry, teaching at the Pacific Institute of Performing Arts, directing the theatre adaptation of Red, White and Brass, being named a New Generation Arts Laureate in 2014, and being appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2023. On the eve of her most recent win, I had the opportunity to ask her a few questions.

Congratulations Anapela – another award! How does it feel to add to your already impressive list of honours? How did you find out? 

I rarely acknowledge awards, but I appreciate it. There’s always the work that needs to be done so it doesn’t really take my focus and attention, but I always turn up to tali le fa’aaloalo (show up to answer the gesture of respect). For me, it’s a bit overwhelming.

I found out because I got a call from Jannita Pilisi (Arts Council member). But someone had called me earlier and said, ‘Listen, I need your CV because I’m going to nominate you for the Arts Pasifika Awards.’ And I thought, ‘Well – good luck!’ [laughs].

Is there anything in particular about this award that differentiates it from others?

Apart from the fact that this is for Pasifika, everything is ultimately the same – in terms of what you’re being recognised for, which is your work, your storytelling, and credentials.  

When you look back at your early work with Kila Kokonut Krew or Pani and Pani, did you ever imagine being recognised at such high levels?

I think in my heart of hearts, I always knew that there is more to do. It’s something that I always use in my work and that is the word ‘continuation.’ Being here is no surprise to me because I’m always thinking about how we can serve the community, how we can give back to South Auckland, how we can bring in stories from Samoa. I feel like while I’m alive, I can be the conduit that joins all these parts of the world that I’ve grown up in – the Western world as well as my own worldviews.

You’ve often spoken about representation and voice – how has that conversation shifted since you started out? 

I think it's shifted, it’s moved, it’s deepened, it's more articulate because there is now an understanding on what needs to be done and worked on. It’s become clearer to me what my purpose really is, and that is to articulate stories from my Samoan-ness. It’s almost like everything we do is for our people.

Today, a woman at the airport approached and she was talking about Tinā. And the thing I don’t consider, is when people see the work, they critique it and are able to fully disclose how they feel about it. It makes me think, ‘wow, you got all of that from this?’ and she pointed to all the things she could relate to from this and that! So by being clearer, I know how to craft things better, in ways that all the nuances can evoke and provoke.

What keeps you grounded and motivated to keep creating?

Curiosity! I always think, ‘What if we do this and that,’ and what would the chain reaction be? It's always about curiosity.

You’re a director as well as an artist – do these two roles feed into each other?

I’m an actor first. I trained as an actor, so I know what makes an actor tick. There’s a particular way we process things as actors that differs to being a director, so while we don’t necessarily process things the same way, the goal is the same, and that has sharpened me as a director. Both things go hand-in-hand, you can’t separate the two!

What do you look for in a project – ie, what makes you decide ‘yes, I’ll take part in this’ (or not).

I love originality. I love things that make me go, ‘I never thought of that,’ or things that make me sit right up and just make the world a little clearer. I love being challenged and it makes me investigate it more!

If you had to pick one career highlight, what would it be?

So many! Most recent in terms of being a director, would be Wild Dogs Under My Skirt, and as an actor, the freedom of Wild Dogs Under My Skirt too. Also Alofagia: Le Opera, which we created with Sol3 Mio, all in Samoan with an orchestra. All the things that people would look at me and say, ‘You’re crazy!’ The one thing about me is the stubbornness. I never rest until I get something over the line. I also did Our Flag Means Death, and that was the first time I’ve played a pirate! I remember walking onto set and thinking, ‘so this is what a big HBO budget looks like!’ and of course, Tinā!

What’s next!

Ideally, I want a bit of a break. A proper switch off!

💥News on the wire

Modular Point Chevalier Library opens with a soundtrack

On Saturday 8 November, local legendary musicians Dave Khan and David Ward will perform a one-hour ambient soundtrack called Music to Read By, especially commissioned for the opening of Point Chevalier’s modular library. “This library has always felt like the heart of our neighbourhood,” says Khan. “Libraries are so much more than books, they’re places where people connect, imagine, and feel part of something bigger. We wanted the music to honour that, to create something reflective, immersive, and quietly joyful for this community I love”.

🌹Robert Taylor, guitarist of 1970s band Dragon, dies

Robert Taylor “Born in Waipukarau, New Zealand… son of an ice cream manufacturer and housewife… rugby and blues licks with the Māoris… confirmed in the Anglican church… won a scholarship to Wellington Uni… majored in English… English lecturer dealt dope, ran a rock band: goodbye studies… joined acid-symphonic rock’n’roll band Mammal...” by his own accord in 1977, has died. AudioCulture considers him to be one of New Zealand’s best-known lead guitarists, particularly for his longtime involvement in Dragon and their big hit April Sun in Cuba. Rest in peace.

Spiral Collective turns 50

The artist-run imprint and charity was founded 50 years ago by poet and activist Heather McPherson (1942-2017). It has supported women's creative legacies ever since, and is perhaps best known for publishing Keri Hulme’s The Bone People in 1985, or the Spiral journal, which is ongoing. To celebrate, there’s exhibitions in Christchurch and Auckland. In the Anthony Harper Archive Lounge of the Christchurch Art Gallery there’s a small exhibition of some of the collective's most important publications, which is free to visit and on until 7 December. Up in Auckland, there’s an exhibition including publications, archival ephemera and artworks, at the Charlotte Museum which is free to visit until 19 December.

Aotearoa’s first festival of Black Arts announced

The inaugural Aotearoa Festival of Black Arts will run for a month in Auckland from 22 November. Its purpose is to amplify the artistic excellence and lived experiences of Black creatives who call Aotearoa home, show their work to audiences, connect communities, and redefine the cultural landscape of Aotearoa. The festival has been developed over the past year and a half by Black Creatives Aotearoa and will include theatre, film, music, movement, visual arts, literature, and community events.

It was “born from a desire to create a space where Afro-Kiwi artists can be seen, celebrated, and supported in ways that push beyond traditional boundaries of representation,” says festival founder Dione Joseph. “We have extraordinary Afro-Kiwi talent in this country, and it’s time for those voices and stories to be centred, visible, and valued – and to do so with joy.”

Taranaki National Art Awards winners announced

From over 260 entries, seven artists have been declared winners across the seven categories: painting, Taranaki-based artists, 3D, works on paper, photography, tō taranakitanga and fibre art. “From eclectic, dynamic, and thought-provoking, to figurative and more abstract perspectives – we love the vast range and unique way participating creatives have expressed themselves this year,” says Megan Symons, chairperson of the awards committee. And the winners are:

Painting: Eliot Coates
Highly Commended: Kirsty McLean

Taranaki Artists: Susie Hutson
Highly Commended: Peter Gunn 

3D: John Tullett
Highly Commended: Phil Taylor

Works on Paper: Rachelle Sutherland
Highly Commended: Portia Roper

Fibre Art: Helen Harvey
Highly Commended: Emma Gamble 

Tō Taranakitanga: James Davidson
Highly Commended: Luanna Sheridan

Photography: Chris Polletti 
Highly Commended: Jenny Corban 

Special Award (Committee Choice): Logan Burns

New gallery opens in Te Whanganui-a-Tara

Peg Gallery opened this weekend at 230 Cuba Street, a building originally built for a bedding factory in 1907. As mentioned in the Lowdown in September, it’s founded by Peggy Robinson, and is a dealership gallery driven by care for artists and communities. The inaugural exhibition, on until 29 November, is by Reece King, painter and recipient of the 2025 Frances Hodgkins Fellowship.

Lewis Batchelar 2026 New Zealand Glassworks artist in residence

Lewis Batchelar recently returned to Aotearoa after nine years working in Adelaide’s vibrant glass scene and will spend four weeks at New Zealand Glassworks Te Whare Tūhua o Te Ao in Whanganui, developing a new body of work. “This residency offers the rare chance to focus deeply on experimentation,” he says. “I want to honour glassmaking traditions while pushing the dialogue between pattern, colour and structure, creating works that feel both familiar and entirely new.”

Kiwi Christmas Books campaigning again

The charity that aims to get local books in the hands of more children has opened this year’s campaign to ask for donations of books, with a particular focus on books featuring reo Māori. Many of the 54,000 brand new books distributed so far have been the recipients first-ever book of their own. “Reading stories set in our own streets, forests and farms shows Kiwi kids

that their lives, their voices and their communities matter,” says founder Sonya Wilson. “It builds pride, belonging and identity, and it helps children fall in love with reading because they

recognise themselves and their experiences in the stories.”

Tautai to host Los Angeles based artist Maria Maea this month

Maria, a Mexican-Samoan artist, will spend November at Tautai (Karangahape Road, Auckland) as part of the international residency programme. Maria’s practice engages with ritual, spiritual symbolism, and urban materiality through her Samoan and Latinx heritage.

Auckland Writers Festival Waituhi o Tāmaki announces three events in March

The festival has announced three pre-festival events with international writers. First up is journalist and author M. Gessen, who regularly tops bestseller charts with their non-fiction. Then, Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning US writer Percival Everett will discuss his lauded career spanning more than 30 books. Finally, the Italian novelist and art critic Vincenzo Latronico, one of Europe’s most talented ‘next generation’ writers. He will discuss Perfection, his most recent novel.

Jimmy James Kouratoras wins people’s choice award at National Contemporary Art Awards

This year’s awards had a record number of entries (more than 480) and in July guest judge Nigel Borell selected Zena Elliott as the winner of the $20,000 National Contemporary Art Award. Now, visitors to the exhibition have voted Jimmy James Kouratoras’ painting Rooted in whenua: our whakapapa, yesterday, today and tomorrow as the people’s choice. “I just painted the painting that I wanted to paint and leaned into a real abstract expressionist mode,” he says Kouratoras. “For it to be received like this and chosen by the people, it has given me the affirmation to lean more into my true essence. As cliche as it might sound, it’s a reminder you have to trust yourself for the best story to come out.”

👀 Further reading

The inimitable Sam Brooks wrote a feature for us about Prayas Theatre’s 20 years of lighting up stages with South Asian storytelling. 

Theatre-maker Lizzie Tollemache surveyed 20 established theatre artists on making work for children. What they said led her to write that the future of theatre is broken.

Ellie Smith is back on home soil for the first time in 17 years. She shares memories from 1987 and the reasons why she loves being on stage in a Shameless Plug.

We’re launching a new column tomorrow, in partnership with The National Grid, a graphic design journal that is relaunching after 13 years. Come back in the morning to read about how and why they’re back.

📝 Letters to the editor

Here’s what people loved most about last week’s Artswire:

• The photo of Marlon Williams and KOMMI 
• The white space that lets the text breathe

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