The capital is now buzzing with life, art and the best atmosphere in the country. Reason? Kia Mau Festival. Sam Brooks interviews the founders and some of the participants about what makes the festival so special.
For most of June, Poneke will feel a little different. The air may be cold, but the atmosphere couldn’t be warmer – mainly because the Kia Mau is on.
Founded by Hone Kouka ONZM (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungunu and Ngāti Raukawa) and Miria George (Te Arawa, Ngāti Awa and Ngāti Kuki ‘Ārani), the festival is now in its seventh iteration. This year’s festival expands into music and visual arts, not focusing on local theater and dance, including concert on Cook Island in the center of Michael Fowler, an fascinating video installation in Te Auaha and exhibition Curated by Jamie Berry at Te Papa.
What gives the festival its advantage? And how did it not just survive seven festivals, but grow to a level that can compete with the country’s biggest urban art festivals?
“I love Poneke. It shaped me as an artist. It makes sense to me as a city. So for me, Kia Mau is my way of giving back to the city and acknowledging that,” says Kouka, now Kia Mau’s artistic director and CEO. “It seemed to me that for ten years in the city, the mana in the city, the mana of artists was not supported.”
“This is how I do it.”
While Kia Mau officially started back in 2015, it actually has its roots in a smaller, more grassroots festival in 2010: the Matariki Development Festival, where new plays and works will be developed. This festival coincided with the then annual Tawata Productions show at the Circa Theater. “In June, when Tawata was scheduled to perform, Poneke was packed with so many people that Hone began to think there was more meat than those beautiful bones,” explains George, now Kia Mau’s chief executive.
“There’s a certain strength to it – it’s rock in the script, it’s rock in the words on the page, and I think that put us in a good mood to build Kia Mau from there.”
It was 2015 when they both started exploring their city, and they hadn’t seen many Māori or Pasifika acts on the main stages. “I went to four different venues – Hannah Playhouse, Circa Theatre, Te Papa and BATs – and asked them to give me a seat and I filled it,” says Cook. “Then Miria looked at me and said, ‘You know you just created a festival?’
The couple decided to do it again, but public consultation was crucial. If the community didn’t want it, they didn’t want to do it. The answer was unanimous – not only the community wanted it, but they too necessary a festival led by indigenous, Maori and Pasifika people.
The festival has grown to include international artists, including Indigenous and Indigenous artists from Canada, Hawaii and Australia. It was held every year until 2019. The main initiators of the festival were George and Cooke themselves, but they also wanted to continue practicing as artists – both are recipients of the Bruce Mason Prize in Drama and Cooke is an Arts Foundation Laureate – so they changed the model to a biennial festival.
“Over a period of time, it’s really exciting for me to see the evolution of our artists and that our artists are realizing that there’s no one way to make Maori art, Pasifika art or Indigenous art,” Cooka says. “As Māori we are kaitiaki and one of the ways we look at it is to create a space for voices and communities that you don’t hear, so we’ve also got Sri Lankan Tamil works, Cambodian works, works from Laos as well .
“For me, it’s just as important: if we’re strong, we create space for other voices and other communities. But it’s about the artist, it’s about relationships with artists.”
Kia Mau raised three artists: Reon Bell (Ngati Tuwaretoa, Ngati Kahungunu Ki Te Wairoa), Roy Iro (Rarotonga, Aitutaki, Aitu, Manihiki, Rakahanga, Penryn, Palmerston) and Sean Rivera (Filipino/English). ). All three participate in several exhibitions throughout Kia Mau, but Flame“a cop buddy mystery hip-hop detective musical,” marks their stage debut as the creators of Circa.
“Flames was created with the initial idea of combining traditional hip-hop and traditional theater,” explains Iro. “It exposes theatergoers to a world where there are a lot of Polynesians, people who aren’t interested in theater, and it’s a chance for people who are very interested in hip-hop to get into a world that they’re not interested in. in.”
The genesis of the show came from Iroh and Bell studying first year acting at Toi Whakaari, putting their solo shows on hold. Bell, an experienced DJ under the pseudonym WYNONA, played a certain beat, and a light went on in Iro’s head: this is the place for a detective show.
“Roy and I were participants in the Agaram New Works Festival, and we both wrote individual works together,” explains Rivera. “We did it for two weeks and we got a huge number of letters from it.”
From there, a real train of people jumped on board. Veteran producer Vanessa Immink hosted them at the Pūtahi Festival, where Kouka eventually saw the show, which led to his program eventually being held at the Kia Mau.
“These are all people who have really strong support for young Indigenous voices, and these are the same people who have inspired these scenes in Aotearoa since the beginning,” Bell says. “It’s a privilege not only for them to give us the opportunity to do this, but for these people to make us feel cared for and like we’re part of a bigger picture.”
All three were supported not only by Kia Mau, but also by George and Koka. And not just one-time support – it’s the kind of constant support that any artist wants and, frankly, needs for a sustainable career. “To get a platform like this as an emerging artist is stupid,” says Bell. “It’s the coolest festival in the country, and probably will be for a long time.”
Bell, who also performs with his famous show Regarding a UFO sighting near Mt Roskill, Auckland (directed by Rivera) and as WYNONA elsewhere in the Kia Mau, has wanted to take part in the festival since he moved to Poneke, especially because his connection to Maori culture is largely through the arts. “It means a lot to me as an actor, it means a lot to me as a sound engineer, as a musician, and it makes me feel good about the choices I’ve made in life.”
Iro, who also performs in the Cook Island Musical Extravaganza ‘Avaiki Nui Social, glad to be chosen to participate in the festival. “It’s just cool to be a part of an opportunity where you can see your culture rise,” he says.
“Wellington City Turns Brown”.
The festival supports not only budding artists, but also more famous artists. Two of these artists are Nathano Keni (Samoa/Aotearoa) and Sarita So (Cambodia/Aotearoa), co-authors A liar, a thief and a coward. The action takes place in the recent past on the island of Samoa, where Pili Sa Taulieva, a proud Ali, has suddenly fallen ill, leaving him unable to fulfill his duties in the family, church and village.
The series is about a man with power in the matai system who refuses to give up his power when it’s time for him to pass on the torch. “I was looking at what’s in the title and what’s in the title — what’s in the blood,” Kenny says of the show. “With the existing service system – the tautua system – everything depends on how much you penetrate the family, whether it’s money, mowing the grass or keeping the hearth at home. “
This premiere features an indoor show at Circa One, which is a huge step up for I Ken So Productions, who have performed at the festival before. It’s a venue-worthy show with a cast of nine and a crew of 15, including Kenny and So. “The people that I’m surrounded by, that you do the show with, they’re out of this world, they’re next level,” Kenny says.
The support the festival gives So and Kenny, who have been in the industry for over a decade, is also invaluable. “If we were just relying on basic systems or funding models, I don’t know if we would be engaging with artists as such,” So says.
“We are very lucky that this festival exists and that it is based in the Valley. He not only continues the work and creativity that is happening here, but also brings work here from afar.”
Many things make Kia Mau different and special. It is an indigenous-led festival where indigenous people are built into the very foundation, rather than rebuilt after the structure is built. Also, very importantly, it’s not just an artist-led festival, it supports these artists for several years in various roles and forms and then sends them out into the world beyond the festival.
George says simply: “Our festival grows artists.”
“It’s not about pushing these people hard on us, it’s about me enlightening you and you go away and if you want to come back, we’ve treated you well, you’ll come back,” Cook says. “And we found that a lot of artists wanted to come back to us.”
Artists and art are fed by Kia Mau, and the festival gives them back tenfold. When you give support, time and care to artists, they benefit, but so do the audience. You just have to watch the program – dyeing Pōneke brown – to see for yourself.
Kia Mau is open until June 17 in Poneka. You can read the entire program and book tickets here.