Pacific Artists Honoured with Prestigious Arts Laureate Awards
Pacific Artists Honoured with Prestigious Arts Laureate Awards
In a celebration of Pacific representation, two Pasifika artists, Lonnie Hutchinson and Victor Rodger, have been recognized at the 2024 Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi Laureate Awards. This recognition highlights their outstanding contributions to Aotearoa’s arts scene and the growing impact of Pasifika voices in New Zealand’s creative landscape.
Lonnie Hutchinson ( Ngāti Kurī ki Ngāi Tahu, Samoan (Faleilili), Celtic) received the My ART Visual Arts Award for her work, which powerfully comments on indigeneity, colonisation, and identity complexities. Reflecting on her career, Hutchinson shared, “I think a lot of New Zealanders care and are excited by art made by Pasifika artists. There’s a lot more Pacific art graduates following their dream and making inroads into the gallery scene and beyond. It’s encouraging and a delight to see!”
Her artistic practice, which spans black builder’s paper, vintage wallpapers, acrylic, steel, and aluminium, fuses the personal and political. “I use various motifs that reference my cultural heritage and comment on ancient traditions and the effects of colonisation,”
Hutchinson expressed her joy at receiving this prestigious award, saying, “I’m thrilled to get the recognition. It was a huge surprise when I got the phonne call from the Arts Foundation Co-Chair informing me I had been selected, and it was a unanimous decision by the selection committee.” She sees the awards as a significant moment for Pasifika artists, noting, “The Tagata Moana population is growing, and there are more of us engaged in the arts than ever before. It keeps growing. That’s significant.”
Victor Rodger, (Samoan) recipient of the Toi Kō Iriiri Queer Arts Award, is a celebrated playwright and producer who has made a mark in New Zealand theatre with his bold exploration of race, identity, and sexuality.
Reflecting on receiving the award, Rodger said, “The thing I loved the most is that I get to honour my mother. As I said in my speech, she has always had my back and never held me back, even though she doesn't love all the swearing in my plays—sorry mum!”
Rodger is proud of the impact of his work, mentioning, “I often say I'm most proud of my most divisive play Club Paradiso. But I'm also proud of the effect Black Faggot had on people. And as a producer, I have loved seeing Wild Dogs Under My Skirt and The Savage Coloniser Show leave audiences shaken and stirred.”
He credits his theatre producing entity, FCC (FLOW, CREATE, CONNECT), for fulfilling its purpose of creating opportunities for Pasifika practitioners. “FCC is my theatre producing entity. I created it specifically to create platforms for Pasifika practitioners, and its aims have all been fulfilled with the success of Wild Dogs (which played in New York off-Broadway) and Savage Coloniser (which, as I write this, is being performed in Seoul).”
Discussing the importance of Pasifika storytelling, Rodger emphasised, “We don't ever need more films like Gary of the Pacific. We need more works like Red White and Brass or The Orator, which sound and feel like truth. Personally, I can't wait until we have Pasifika artists brave enough to do more controversial and confronting work like Titane or The Substance, work that is unapologetically provocative.”
The Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi Laureate Awards have once again celebrated the excellence and creativity of New Zealand’s artists. This year’s recognition of Pasifika voices underscores the vital role these artists play in shaping the country’s diverse and vibrant arts landscape. As Hutchinson said, “We are the great Pacific Ocean, Moana Nui a Kiwa.”
By Tikilounge Productions & Creative New Zealand Toi Aotearoa
Arts & Culture Journalist Destiny Momoiseā