We’re wrapping up another year of Pasefika creative arts here in Melbourne and we just want to give 2023 a shout-out for being another seki year for us! As we prepare to part ways for the Christmas/New Year break, we want to thank our PICAA family – everyone who participated in our 2023 projects and programs – for being an awesome community of passionate and proud Pasefika creatives. It’s been an exciting year of epic collaborations on-stage and we continue to be grateful for the community support, interest and engagement through the many projects we roll out.
PICAA WEBSITE
Earlier this year we tweaked our website, got our blogposts back up and running and decided to streamline all the info about our programs – past and present – for easier reading. A highlight of our updated website is the introduction of our PICAA Creative Leaders through our new ‘Meet the Team’ page. We’re proud of the development of our leadership team – a strong front for PICAA and highly representative of the skills and expertise needed to contribute to a multicultural arts landscape in Australia.
SPIRIT OF PASEFIKA (SoP)
This year we championed two spectacular events: Moomba Festival Parade (City of Melbourne), and Pasifix 2023 (Gaba Musik, Arts Centre Melbourne). This was possible through our Spirit of Pasefika program. 2023 was the year for everyone to get back on stage after the pandemic period, so with a strong 60-member group at Moomba and 40 performers at Pasifix, we completed an epic 3 months of planning, rehearsals and event performances. You can view photos from both events here. Shout out to all the amazing mums and dads who organised their families to get themselves and their kids to our rehearsals – you guys were the best!
OUT AND ABOUT
This year we also celebrated and supported local groups and events. In February we attended the Oriana Siva Academy fundraiser event with proceeds going towards their Hawai’i trip. In March we attended the Australian premiere of the film ‘A Boy Called Piano – The Story of Faamoana John Luafutu’ as part of the Birrarangga Film Festival at ACMI, also meeting the star of the film Matthias Luafutu. In November, a partnership with Kismet Movies enabled 40 of our PICAA family members to attend the Melbourne premiere of NZ film ‘Uproar’ at Crown Village cinemas. Lastly, we supported a new play, written by Delsa Evotia Tuitea – the recipient of the New Voices of the West commission with Western Edge Youth Arts. We announced Delsa’s big news back in September and in December, our PICAA family was invited to take part in a first reading of Delsa’s play ‘E lelei mea uma – All is Well’, directed by Asalemo Tofete. We wish Delsa all the best as she works with Western Edge to further develop this play and look forward to when its ready for the stage.
PASEFIKA THEATRE FESTIVAL – IN PROGRESS
In October we announced our new residency project with Creative Brimbank (Brimbank City Council). With this Bowery Theatre residency we will be hosting a Pasefika Theatre Festival in May 2024. This is an opportunity to develop and produce new plays, also showcasing emerging Pasefika talent from within our community. A multicultural event, we also welcome non-Pasefika creatives to join us in this exciting new venture. Under the creative leadership of Asalemo Tofete, produced by Gina Tafea, this new festival will be the first of its kind in Australia and we look forward to building it over the next few months. We will be posting updates all over our socials so be sure to follow us so you don’t miss out on any opportunities to participate – Watch this space errrbody!
Once again, we thank all our PICAA family – performers and supporters – for joining us this year. We send you best wishes as you wind down for the year with your families, and can’t wait to see you all again in the new year. We’ve got lots of creative work lined up for 2024 so enjoy your rest time LOL.
Alofaagas from Team PICAA – Rita, Asalemo, Gina, Delsa, Sikivi and our families.
Pacific Island Creative Arts Australia Inc. 