Te Tīmatanga 2023
Client
Auckland Pride
Year
2022 - 2023
Summary
The return and embedding of Te Tīmatanga — a kaupapa taking root across the city. Holding Takatāpui stories, relationships, and futures in place, it moves from moment to foundation.
The second year of Te Tīmatanga marked its return and embedding — evolving from a one-off activation into a nationally recognised Takatāpui arts programme.
What began as a response became infrastructure.
The work was driven by a need for grounding — how Auckland Pride could meaningfully engage with mana whenua, and reflect to mātāwaka that Tāmaki Makaurau sits firmly on whenua Māori, with a distinct cultural and Takatāpui identity shaped by the rohe.
The second year of Te Tīmatanga marked its return and embedding — evolving from a one-off activation into a nationally recognised Takatāpui arts programme.
What began as a response became infrastructure.
The work was driven by a need for grounding — how Auckland Pride could meaningfully engage with mana whenua, and reflect to mātāwaka that Tāmaki Makaurau sits firmly on whenua Māori, with a distinct cultural and Takatāpui identity shaped by the rohe.
Te Tīmatanga positions te ao Māori at the centre of the organisation’s arts programming. It is grounded in the understanding that Māori have always held expansive expressions of gender and sexuality — affirming Takatāpuitanga as inherent, and recognising trans existence as a sign of healthy, interconnected ecologies.
It also acknowledges more recent histories — that the Gay Liberation Movement in Aotearoa was led by Māori at Auckland University — reinforcing that Takatāpui presence is both ancestral and contemporary.
Through a residency model based at the Albert Park Caretaker’s Cottage, and supported by Creative New Zealand, we established a framework that connects generations — bringing emerging Takatāpui artists into direct relationship with senior arts leaders. This exchange builds continuity, enabling new schools of thought while embedding research, pūrākau, and lived experience within contemporary practice.
A retrospective and research-led approach situates the work of senior artists alongside pūrākau atua — grounding artistic development within wider cultural and cosmological narratives. In doing so, the programme strengthens a sense of belonging — not only within the arts sector, but within whakapapa, place, and community.
Te Tīmatanga positions te ao Māori at the centre of the organisation’s arts programming. It is grounded in the understanding that Māori have always held expansive expressions of gender and sexuality — affirming Takatāpuitanga as inherent, and recognising trans existence as a sign of healthy, interconnected ecologies.
It also acknowledges more recent histories — that the Gay Liberation Movement in Aotearoa was led by Māori at Auckland University — reinforcing that Takatāpui presence is both ancestral and contemporary.
Through a residency model based at the Albert Park Caretaker’s Cottage, and supported by Creative New Zealand, we established a framework that connects generations — bringing emerging Takatāpui artists into direct relationship with senior arts leaders. This exchange builds continuity, enabling new schools of thought while embedding research, pūrākau, and lived experience within contemporary practice.
A retrospective and research-led approach situates the work of senior artists alongside pūrākau atua — grounding artistic development within wider cultural and cosmological narratives. In doing so, the programme strengthens a sense of belonging — not only within the arts sector, but within whakapapa, place, and community.
The impact is structural.
Te Tīmatanga has transformed Auckland Pride’s arts programming — embedding kaupapa Māori at its core, strengthening intergenerational knowledge exchange, and establishing the programme as both a site of development and a living archive for Takatāpui futures.
At its centre is a growing rōpū of emerging arts leaders — artists who have been held, challenged, and guided by some of the country’s most respected practitioners, with leadership demonstrated through practice.
With continued support from partners and funders, and the establishment of a Creative New Zealand residency, Te Tīmatanga is no longer a moment — it is a platform.
Artworks listed in order of image top to bottom, left to right.
Image 1:
Work 1 (Left): Unnamed, Heidi Brickell 2023.
Work 2 (Back, Centre): I like balls, Isaac Te Awa. 2023.
Work 3 (Front, Centre): Hei Tiki, Atarangi Anderson. 2023.
Image 2: Unnamed, Kiriana Sheree, Cuetone. 2023.
Image 3: Rope Play, Abigail Aroha Jensen, 2023.
Image 4:
Work 1 (Back, Left): Unnamed, Tyrone Te Waa, 2023.
Work 2 (Centre, Front) Unnamed, Isaac Te Awa, 2023.
Image 5: Pūhoro, Te Rima Whakatau, 2023.
The impact is structural.
Te Tīmatanga has transformed Auckland Pride’s arts programming — embedding kaupapa Māori at its core, strengthening intergenerational knowledge exchange, and establishing the programme as both a site of development and a living archive for Takatāpui futures.
At its centre is a growing rōpū of emerging arts leaders — artists who have been held, challenged, and guided by some of the country’s most respected practitioners, with leadership demonstrated through practice.
With continued support from partners and funders, and the establishment of a Creative New Zealand residency, Te Tīmatanga is no longer a moment — it is a platform.
Artworks listed in order of image top to bottom, left to right.
Image 1:
Work 1 (Left): Unnamed, Heidi Brickell 2023.
Work 2 (Back, Centre): I like balls, Isaac Te Awa. 2023.
Work 3 (Front, Centre): Hei Tiki, Atarangi Anderson. 2023.
Image 2: Unnamed, Kiriana Sheree, Cuetone. 2023.
Image 3: Rope Play, Abigail Aroha Jensen, 2023.
Image 4:
Work 1 (Back, Left): Unnamed, Tyrone Te Waa, 2023.
Work 2 (Centre, Front) Unnamed, Isaac Te Awa, 2023.
Image 5: Pūhoro, Te Rima Whakatau, 2023.
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