CNZ Tautai Interns

Placements for the recipients of 2015’s Pasifika internships have been confirmed.

The internships help potential pacific arts managers and leaders to build their arts management skills, are funded by Creative New Zealand, and delivered by Tautai Contemporary Pacific Arts Trust.

Jodi Meadows’ internship will be at Te Uru Waitakere Contemporary Gallery, Faith Wilson will join the team putting together Writer’s Week in 2016’s New Zealand Festival, and Joy Vaele’s internship is with the Auckland Arts Festival.

“While Pacific artists are producing some of New Zealand’s most exciting art, Pacific people are less visible in the arts management realm,” says Tautai’s Internship Project Liaison person, Janet Lilo – who is a respected visual artist, co-chair of Tautai’s trust board, and teaches at Elam School of Fine Arts and Unitec.

She has experience working with Creative New Zealand and is excited at the professional development opportunities to learn more about the business end of things that the Pacifika Internships provide.

“These internships give the recipient artists access to the organisations’ knowledge and experience, and the opportunity to operate at a higher industry level. The placements are a great opportunity to develop arts management skills and enhance understandings about the context, timing, planning, funding, promotion and management that underpins a successful project.”

Creative New Zealand funds the internships, and contracts Tautai to deliver them. The internships are open to New Zealand residents of Pacific heritage with a tertiary qualification and/or at least three years continuous experience working as an artist, practitioner or administrator. Tautai selects the interns after a process of advertising, short-listing and interviewing.

Tautai has a proven track record of successfully developing and delivering professional development programmes in the arts and/or tertiary sectors across New Zealand. “The Trust has a strong knowledge of, and networks within, New Zealand arts and cultural institutions,” says manager Christina Jeffery.

“Tautai occupies a unique niche in the Aotearoa/New Zealand arts world as an organisation facilitating the development of contemporary pacific art and artists,” Christina says. “This includes raising the profile of Pacific art nationally and internationally, and fulfilling artists’ aspirations to manage and lead arts projects. We aim to provide leadership, and an infrastructure, in the development of Pacific art and artists.”