HUMANS OF THE ISLANDS - SARAH RO'OPINIA
Sarah Roopinia
Founder of Ono'u Tahiti
Tahitian/French
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I’m 28 years old and I was born on the island of Raiatea. I grew up in Tahiti until I was 16, then I left to do my studies abroad, first in France where I studied political science and international relations. I then did my Bachelors in the US at Berkeley, then I went back to Paris where I did my Masters in Economics and Project Management. I worked as an Energy Consultant for a while, then as the EU Representative of French Polynesia, in Paris.
At the moment, I still work as a consultant in communications. I have my own consultancy company and basically I work for a leading bank in French Polynesia where I handle their Communication Marketing, this is what I do for a living.
My passion is what we created four years ago with ONO’U , which is an international graffiti and street art festival that takes place every year in Tahiti, and now in other islands. This is what I spend most of my energy doing, consultancy is to make a living because we don’t make money from the festival; we do it out of passion. Through our festival we’re inviting renowned artists from around the world to participate in the mural festival. We invite about 15-20 big names in the graffiti and street art scene, some of which are from the Pacific.
It’s become an event that has gained a worldwide outreach. We are receiving requests from everywhere, so we try our best to invite everyone.
What gave you the idea to start ONO’U and what struggles did you face when you were getting it started?
The idea came five years ago. I don’t have an arts background but everywhere I have lived since I left Tahiti (12 years ago), has been in big cities and living in places where urban art was basically part of the neighborhood. In Paris where I lived was a spot where they invited artists every 2 weeks to paint this specific wall. In Berlin it was the same. It’s always been apart of my life since I left Tahiti and I knew I wanted to come back, but I had to gain experience and learn things abroad that would help me when I came back.
I think I found my way through this cultural and artistic movement, and I think it’s also coherent with the story and cultural importance that Tahiti has in the Pacific. It made a lot of sense to me to bring graffiti and street art back to Tahiti.
Everyone comes out onto the street because they want to see the artists painting, and the artists want to interact with the locals and each festival we create a special workshop for children. We provide everything for the children and they paint and interact with the artists. When I was young, none of these things were happening, just Tahitian dance, which is great but we tried to bring this in so at an early age they can get a taste of what else is out there.
We always have a Polynesia touch, which makes it different. We’ve travelled everywhere, to a lot of festivals and events to meet with artists and its part of our lifestyle. Coming back to Tahiti was about making a project that made sense to the community, which is somewhat ignorant to this type of art. So it was a process to raise awareness and an education process so they could understand street art. It’s also about the exposure of Tahiti.
Initially everyone in Tahiti was against this project. We couldn’t get owners to give us their walls, because they would imagine graffiti as tagging or horrible things. So for six months we had been struggling to get authorization until a very famous lawyer on the island gave us authorization. So we went to the others and showed them that if a lawyer can sign off then it’s fine, its just paint. Financially it’s also quite difficult, people don’t realize but Tahiti is so far away. Flying in artists, accommodation, all the logistics on this tiny Island is really complicated. Whenever it comes to making a worldwide event that has a certain standard, its financially complicated. We do it mainly from private sponsoring or funding. Public funding only allows us 20% of the budget.
How do you choose the murals?
We never impose on the artists. We have a lot of discussion upfront when we contact the artists 9 months prior to the event. It’s all because of logistics, paint and wall options etc. We discuss preferences with the artists and based on that they start thinking of an idea. For instance some artists wait until they arrive and feel the space and environment to get inspired. For other artists, we know exactly what the mural will be before they come. We invited artists from the Pacific and Europe, and then we grew bigger, inviting artists from other countries who had different styles. It is very rare and unique to have something like this in the Pacific.
We don’t impose themes on the paintings, but we are very cautious about the wall locations because we want it to make sense. We try and convince owners to sign authorization to make it happen and work with artists and their styles.
Most artists are very curious because Tahiti is so far away. We always have a batch of new artists who research and ask questions, which helps them to understand the place. They would ask about the animals or the food, the traditions and people.
The way we see it, we feel honored. We’re inviting them, but there isn’t a fee or commission for their work, so I wouldn’t feel comfortable imposing ideas. Of course they just have to be respectful of the local beliefs and public order, basic things. We can give advice but ultimately the artists decide.
How have you been able to take ONO'U international?
ONO’U is a mural festival and also an international contest that invites emerging artists that come to Tahiti. The competition has different rounds and selection phases; the final is on canvases 2x4 meters. All the art that is produced is then sent away to be exhibited so that we promote the work of the artists that came to Tahiti, and to promote the festival.
The first exhibition was in Santa Monica and the second year in Beverly Hills. The lobby and hotel was filled with the murals, either reproductions or original canvas.
In New York there was a presentation of a street art stamp, which was the first street art stamp of Polynesia. It was created out of the visual mural of a famous French artist, who worked together with a local artist. They created a beautiful lady who is sleeping on a Tivaevae. It has lots of references and cultural symbols. The mushroom shows the nuclear past of French Polynesia, and different Polynesian references. It became an emblematic wall in Tahiti, and is the first street art stamp ever and was published by the French Postal Office last year.
In Paris for a month in March last year we were invited to do an exhibition in a four-floor gallery. There were a lot of schools and universities in the neighborhood, it was very intense.
We are hoping this year to work on an event in Auckland, New Zealand, and build something with our Polynesian sisters and brothers.
How has your upbringing and culture shaped you into the woman you are today?
Honestly it’s complicated because I am lucky having a mixed cultural background, half Tahitian and half Chinese on my father’s side, and my mum is French from Italian origins. At home it is a melting pot, a mix of everything. Growing up in Tahiti you feel very isolated from a lot of things, at least for me culturally I was suffering as a kid because we didn’t have internet and things like we do now. You really have to make an effort if you want to reach culture. I feel privileged everywhere I go because people say, “wow I’ve never met a Tahitian before”, so in a way it’s nice.
Who are your biggest inspirations and why?
I was very into social entrepreneurship living abroad. I was always working with social entrepreneurs that were doing things for the environment, or setting up electrification systems etc. I think these are the people that I have seen work really hard from nothing, and have become role models and inspirations in the way they’ve fought through their hardships to make their projects happen. It has made me want to create my own projects.
What are your goals for the future?
I hope that ONO’U can continue to bring innovation in the graffiti and street art scene. In the way we build our events and the way we try to bring creative people together. I wish that ONO’U can grow and become something bigger than only a mural festival with artists coming to Tahiti. We are hoping that we can expand and extend what we’re doing. Aside from this it’s also through the local space; we created the Tahiti Street Art Museum, which is a very innovative project for Tahiti. It helps the public discover art installations mixing graffiti and digital art. We thought of this museum space as an opportunity to create bridges between Tahiti and other capital cities or cultural centers or other museums. It’s a way of not staying so isolated, and makes Tahiti an international hot spot.