10 observations from Melbourne’s Contemporary Pacific Arts Festival
- Dialogue events need strong, informed facilitation; it cannot be overlooked. It is the flow, the glue, the centering force in a birds nest of disparate opinions and voices.
- Sometimes gold is easier to see when it’s sitting in mud.
- Footscray Community Arts Centre is a fantastic people-centered facility; I wish our community arts centres in South Auckland were as innovative, inspiring and integrated into the everyday lives of their local communities.
- Aotearoa New Zealand, in comparison to Australia, is pretty much a Pacific Island country.
- Being around healthy people and healthy lifestyles is contagious and empowering.
- The Pacific felt far away, almost abstract. Pacific protocols regarding hosting, reciprocity and respect, make me feel safe.
- I’m not convinced that Moananui is a term I can use comfortably to describe the Pacific ocean or Oceania. It’s not my language.
- I’m proud to have built my curatorial practice within the context of public service.
- Melanesia was present, visible and vital in the dialogue around ‘Pacific art’; I liked it a lot.
- I see the privileges, opportunities and value of my time and space here in South Auckland; it’s always good to press Refresh.