Te Tīmatanga 2023
Categories
Placemaking, Programme Design, Creative Direction, Cultural Strategy
Client
Auckland Pride
Project
Te Tīmatanga 2023
Services
Programme Design Partnership Management Sponsorship Procurement Creative Direction Curation Production
Year
2022 - 2023
The work began with 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 was developed as a response — positioning Māori worldviews at the centre of the organisation’s arts programming. Grounded in the understanding that Māori have always held expansive expressions of gender and sexuality, the programme affirms Takatāpuitanga as inherent, and recognises trans existence as a sign of healthy, interconnected ecologies.
And that the Gay Liberation Movement was led by Māori at Auckland University.
The work began with 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 was developed as a response — positioning Māori worldviews at the centre of the organisation’s arts programming. Grounded in the understanding that Māori have always held expansive expressions of gender and sexuality, the programme affirms Takatāpuitanga as inherent, and recognises trans existence as a sign of healthy, interconnected ecologies.
And that the Gay Liberation Movement was led by Māori at Auckland University.
Through a residency model based at the Albert Park Caretaker’s Cottage and supported by CNZ, we created a framework that connects generations, bringing emerging Takatāpui artists into direct relationship with senior arts leaders. This exchange canonises new schools of thought while embedding research and pūrākau 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 builds a clear sense of belonging — not just within the arts sector, but within whakapapa, place, and community.
Through a residency model based at the Albert Park Caretaker’s Cottage and supported by CNZ, we created a framework that connects generations, bringing emerging Takatāpui artists into direct relationship with senior arts leaders. This exchange canonises new schools of thought while embedding research and pūrākau 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 builds a clear sense of belonging — not just within the arts sector, but within whakapapa, place, and community.
The result is a transformation of Auckland Pride’s arts programming — embedding kaupapa Māori at its core, strengthening intergenerational knowledge exchange, and establishing Te Tīmatanga as both a site of development and a living archive for Takatāpui futures.
And a rōpū of future arts leaders who have been supported and had
leadership demonstrated to them by some of the nations best.
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 result is a transformation of Auckland Pride’s arts programming — embedding kaupapa Māori at its core, strengthening intergenerational knowledge exchange, and establishing Te Tīmatanga as both a site of development and a living archive for Takatāpui futures.
And a rōpū of future arts leaders who have been supported and had
leadership demonstrated to them by some of the nations best.
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.
