Talanoa Forum: Moana Rising

Ioana Gordon-Smith (NZ)
Prof Francesca Tarocco (Venice)
Prof Katerina Teaiwa SFHEA (AUS)

Miriama Bono (Tahiti)
Prof Cristina Baldacci (Venice)
Sefa Enari MNZM (NZ)
Aanoali'i Rowena Fuluifaga (NZ)
Tammi Gissell (Muruwari-Wiradjuri)
Yuki Kihara (Sāmoa)
Prof Natalie King
Tau'ili'ili Alpha Maiava (NZ)
Madeline Poll (Torres Strait-Australian South Sea Islander)
Alofipo Fleur Ramsay
Prof Jioji Ravulo
Rosanna Raymond MNZM
Cindy of Sāmoa
Harold Samu
Jannike Seiuli
Nathan Mudyi Sentance (Wiradjuri)
Tiumalu Noma Sio-Faiumu (NZ)
Lalau Leo Tanoi
Latai Taumoepeau
Ta'iao Matiu Matavai Tautunu (Sāmoa)
Thelma Thomas (MC Trey)
Fagalima Tuatagaloa (Sāmoa)

10am Welcome to Country
Powerhouse greetings from Lisa Havilah, Powerhouse Chief Executive

Cindy of Sāmoa opens the program

10.10am Introductions*
Prof Jioji Ravulo, Day #1 Moderator
Prof Katerina Teaiwa SFHEA, Provocations

10.30am Queering climate*

Faʻafafine, Faʻatama, trans and queer peoples are disproportionately affected by natural disasters and the wider effects of climate change. This talanoa explores the overlap between the climate and queer movements, and their interconnected struggles within small islands environments.

Tammi Gissell (Muruwari-Wiradjuri)
Yuki Kihara (Sāmoa)
Alofipo Fleur Ramsay
Fagalima Tuatagaloa (Sāmoa)

12pm Lunch - catered for all

1.30pm Everybody talks about the weather*
Funded by Prada, this research exhibition explores the semantics of 'weather' in visual art. Some 50 works by contemporary artists are complemented by a selection of historical artworks to trace the various ways in which climate and weather have shaped our histories and how humanity has dealt with our everyday exposure to meteorological events. (Exhibition closes 26 November 2023)

Prof Cristina Baldacci (Venice)
Prof Francesca Tarocco (Venice)
Prof Katerina Teaiwa

3pm Paradise Camp tour
This tour explores the impetus for Yuki Kihara’s acclaimed exhibition and reveals behind-the-scenes activity through commentary from the artist, curator and models of Paradise Camp.

Yuki Kihara (Sāmoa)
Natalie King
Harold Samu (aka Bertha)
Cindy of Sāmoa
Fagalima Tuatagaloa (Sāmoa)

*These sessions will be filmed and posted online at a later date

10am Acknowledgement of Country
Powerhouse greetings from Nathan Mudyi Sentence (Head of Collections, First Nations)

Cindy of Sāmoa opens the program

10.10am Introductions*
Ta'iao Matiu Matavai Tautunu (Sāmoa), Day #2 Moderator
Ioana Gordon-Smith (NZ), Provocations

10.30am Arts in the Sāmoan diaspora*
Half the world's population of Sāmoans live in the diaspora and the arts is an integral part of maintaining connections to the homeland, forming identity and responding to social and political environments. This talanoa explores the comparison and politics of ‘Sāmoaness' in art within the Sāmoan diaspora of Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia.

Tiumalu Noma Sio-Faiumu (NZ)
Aanoali'i Rowena Fuluifaga (NZ)
Tau'ili'ili Alpha Maiava (NZ)
Jannike Seiuli
Lalau Leo Tanoi

12pm Lunch break (no catering)
Travel to University of Sydney

2pm Transnational collaboration
at Chau Chak Wing Museum
Ancestral stories describe accounts of Indigenous peoples across the Pacific working together towards a common goal, despite their own warfare, long before the arrival of 'Western' sailors. This talanoa explores the trials, tribulations and triumphs of collaborations among Pacific artists who live outside their homelands.

Sefa Enari MNZM (NZ)
Rosanna Raymond MNZM
Latai Taumoepeau
Thelma Thomas (MC Trey)

3.30pm Tidal Kin – Stories from the Pacific tour
at Chau Chak Wing Museum
Once a welcoming Pacific hub, Sydney changed in 1901 with the advent of Federation and the White Australia Policy. This marked the gradual erosion of the shared Pacific histories that once flourished in the region. Tidal Kin reclaims the stories of eight Pacific Island visitors to Sydney during the 18th and 19th centuries. Alongside cultural objects, a soundscape of present-day compatriots and descendants recount their ancestors' stories in their own languages.

4.30pm CCWM Celebration – catered for all
at Chau Chak Wing Museum
Drinks, food + Cindy of Sāmoa

*These sessions will be filmed and posted online at a later date

10am Acknowledgement of Country
Powerhouse greetings from Beau James (Associate Director, First Nations)

Cindy of Sāmoa opens the program

10.10am Introductions*
Prof Natalie King, Day #3 Moderator
Prof Francesca Tarocco (Venice), Provocations

10.30am Vārchive 
Powerhouse Indigenous Collections professionals explore the Paradise Camp Vārchive’sExternal link icon dual role as artwork and archival practice that could catalyse a transformative shift within the heritage sector by highlighting the imperative for Indigenous interventions within colonial collections to foster truth-telling.

This talanoa contemplates the need to redefine heritage by encompassing Indigenous communities and sites as archives and memory holders which are increasingly threatened by climate change.

Tammi Gissell (Muruwari-Wiradjuri)
Madeline Poll (Torres Strait-Australian South Sea Islander)
Nathan Mudyi Sentance (Wiradjuri)

Response to the Vārchive

Prof Cristina Baldacci (Venice)
Aanoali'i Rowena Fuluifaga (NZ)
Ioana Gordon-Smith (NZ)

12pm Lunch break – no catering

1.30pm Contemporary arts in French Polynesia*
Such is the colonial divide that even within the Pacific region, the contemporary art, dance and literature of the Francophone Pacific goes unnoticed in the Anglophone Pacific.

This presentation provides a glimpse into the thriving contemporary arts scene of French Polynesia and the challenges faced by local practitioners.

Miriama Bono (Tahiti)

3pm Moana Rising / Reflections
Looking back, going forward

Tau'ili'ili Alpha Maiava (NZ)
Tiumalu Noma Sio-Faiumu (NZ)
Lalau Leo Tanoi
Prof Katerina Teaiwa
Yuki Kihara (Sāmoa)

4pm End of day mixer and Kava circle

Cindy of Sāmoa performs

5pm Powerhouse Late: PAWA
Live music and performances
Talanoa and short films

*These sessions will be filmed and posted online at a later date