“The spoken word is where I feel the poetry lives. Publishing it in a book was far scarier for me than speaking it on a stage in front of people.” — Nafanua Purcell Kersel, who won the poetry prize at this year’s Ockham’s for her first book, ‘Black Sugarcane’.
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“With time, Vela has gained perspective and written his way to peace. And while he’ll never know what drove his father’s violence, he has found compassion for him.” — Atakohu Middleton on Vela Manusaute, writer and co-director of ‘Sons of Vao’.
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“If I’m embarrassed, I’ll make a joke. If I feel scared, I’ll make a joke. If I don’t know the answer, I’ll make a joke.” — Opeti Vaka, stand-up comedian and nominee for this year’s Billy T Award at the 2026 New Zealand International Comedy Festival.
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“I’m a Hollywood actor now, and I’ve been successful because I’m unapologetically Southside.” — Actor Beulah Koale, on his Ōtara upbringing.
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“Now that I’m inside the belly of the beast, I can see that there’s a lot of goodwill, but there’s also a lot of anxiety.” — Dr Safua Akeli on her work at a German museum grappling its colonial history.
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“What I love about this kaupapa is bridging that gap between our community members, especially our youth, and the professional setting of the opera.” — Stacey Leilua, creative producer of NZ Opera’s ‘The Monster in the Maze’.
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“In Tokelau, in the 1860s, those responsible were Peruvian. Their slave ships came to our atolls and took most of our able-bodied men, as well as some women and children. Virtually half of our people were taken.” — Artist Moses Viliamu on blackbirding.
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“I’ve always loved paying homage to the past. And that’s happened with my music as well. I suppose it’s the whole concept of bringing the village with me, bringing my whakapapa into my present-day music.” — Dr Andrew Faleatua.
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“My academic journey has been a way for me to find my way back to the Pacific, and to make sense of my own history — that history of European settlers from all sorts of places who lived in Sāmoa.” — Peter Brunt.
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“Making siapo is a traditional skill, and if new people don’t learn, then we lose that knowledge and artform. I know of only four other siapo artists.” — Jasmine Tuiā.
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“I think what contemporary Pacific art tells us is what the truth of our reality is.” —artist-curator Ema Tavola.
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