Mālo ni, Fakaalofa lahi atu, Kia orāna, Tālofa lava, Mālō e lelei, Talofa, Noa’ia, Ni sa bula vinaka, Mauri, Welkam Olgeta, Halo Olketa and Tēnā koutou katoa, warm greetings to you all.
Join us at Wellington Pasifika Festival 2024! Drop by our library stall at Waitangi Park on Saturday 10th February, as we celebrate Pacific cultures and contributions to Aotearoa New Zealand. Experience the sights, sounds, and flavours and diversity of the Pacific in this free and whānau-friendly festival. We’ll be there with a pop-up library full of contemporary titles from our Pasifika collections, in a range of Pacific Languages and English. We’ll also be running free Virtual Reality (VR) activities for kids!
Āhea | When 12pm–6pm, Saturday 10 February 2024
Ki hea | Where Waitangi Park, Wellington Waterfront |
Te utu | Cost Free
From art and language to performance and food – the Pasifika Festival is all about acknowledging the richness of our Pacific cultures. Enjoy the wonderful line-up of performances, stalls, and food trucks on offer and come say hi to the Wellington City Libraries team!
Here’s some recent adult titles from our Pacific collections:
Pacific arts Aotearoa : the powerful and dynamic legacy of Pacific arts in Aotearoa, as told by the artists themselves
“Pacific Arts Aotearoa tells the dynamic and powerful story of Pacific arts in Aotearoa. Spanning six decades of multidisciplinary Pacific creative genius, remembering the diverse, fresh and energetic contributions of Pacific artists to New Zealand, Oceania and the world. Edited by leading Pacific writer and scholar Lana Lopesi, with contributions from more than 120 artists, curators and community voices, providing new and previously unheard perspectives on this vast and growing legacy.” (Adapted from Catalogue)
Big fat brown bitch / Avia, Tusiata
“Admire my big fat brown body, bitches! Admire it! The Big Fat Brown Bitch runs, sleeps, cries, laughs, splits open. She is sitting in a garage in South Auckland with her two brothers and discussing the majestic architecture of atoms. She is playing an audio book of The Power of Positive Thinking at herself. She is jumping over the lazy dog. She is lying face down in the mud and doing an apology on behalf of us all. She is receiving an election-year visit and a death threat. She is strapped to the cross. She is turning into a werewolf. The Big Fat Brown Bitch is coming for you.” (Catalogue)
An indigenous ocean : Pacific essays / Salesa, Damon Ieremia
“‘Histories of our Pacific world are richly rendered in these essays by Damon Salesa. From the first Indigenous civilisations that flourished in Oceania to the colonial encounters of the nineteenth century, and on to the complex contemporary relationships between New Zealand and the Pacific, Salesa offers new perspectives on this vast ocean – its people, its cultures, its pasts and its future. Spanning a wide range of topics, from race and migration to Pacific studies and empire. Bridging the gap between academic disciplines and cultural traditions, Salesa locates Pacific peoples always at the centre of their stories.” (Adapted from Catalogue)
Tatau / Mallon, Sean
“Mark Adams’ renowned images documenting a great Polynesian art tradition tell the story of the late Sulu’ape Paulo II, the pre-eminent figure of modern Samoan tattooing. A brilliantly innovative and often controversial man, he saw tatau as an art of international importance. Tatau documents his practice, and that of other tufuga ta tatau (tattoo artists), in the contexts of Polynesian tattooing, Samoan migrant communities and New Zealand art. (Adapted from Catalogue)
vĀsifika : our Autism journeys
“Pasifika families living with autism share their lessons, hopes and dreams of awareness and acceptance. This book is an open invite to connect, to talanoa, and strengthen the vā with those living with autism.” (Catalogue)
Tusiata o le Tala o le Vavau : artists of the forever stories / Va’aelua, Linda
“Tusiata o le Tala o le Vavau is a homage to pioneering and hugely important Samoan artist Iosua To’afa. It celebrates the life and art of a brilliant creative force. Featuring reflections from Albert Wendt, Momoe Malietoa von Reiche, Sean Mallon and Marilyn Kohlhase and more. What’s revealed is a poignant, absorbing and deeply personal account of To’afa’s life and the ongoing influence of his work. Showcasing original work by nine Aotearoa-based Samoan visual artists, all inspired by the 1976 book and To’afa’s art. Tusiata o le Tala o le Vavau is a celebration of contemporary Samoan art today and a critical recognition of its beginnings through Iosua To’afa and his work.” (Adapted from Catalogue)
Goddess muscle / Mila, Karlo
“A long-awaited poetry collection from award-winning Pasifika poet Karlo Mila. The poems are both personal and political, tracing the effect of defining issues such as racism, poverty, violence, climate change and power on Pasifika peoples, Aotearoa and beyond. The collection meditates on love and relationships and explores identity, culture, community and belonging with a voice that does not shy away from the difficult.” (Adapted from Catalogue)
Lāuga : understanding Samoan oratory / Muaiava, Sadat
“Lāuga or Samoan oratory is a premier cultural practice in the faasamoa (Samoan culture), a sacred ritual that embodies all that faasamoa represents, such as identity, inheritance, respect, service, gifting, reciprocity and knowledge. Delivered as either lāuga faamatai (chiefly speeches) and lāuga faalelotu (sermons), lauga is captivating and endowed with knowledge, praxis and skill. Lāuga is enjoyed by many, but today many Samoan people, especially in the Samoan diaspora, also remain disconnected from it. This accessible book explains the intricacies of lāuga and its key stages and is an ideal companion for those who may be called upon to speak at significant occasions, those wanting to improve their knowledge and skills, and all those interested in fa’asāmoa.” (Adapted from Catalogue)
Nuku : stories of 100 indigenous women / Matata-Sipu, Qiane
“The power of storytelling is evident in our earliest pūrākau. Stories can change the world. It is how our tūpuna passed on their knowledge, the blueprint for living well, for generations. Through telling their stories, the women in this book seek to influence the world around them. The youngest is 14 and the eldest is in her mid-70s. They are wāhine Māori, Moriori, Pasifika, Melanesian, Wijadjuri, Himalayan and Mexican.” (Catalogue
Paradise camp / Kihara, Shigeyuki
“Interdisciplinary artist Yuki Kihara is the first Pasifika and first Fa’afafine artist to be presented by New Zealand at the prestigious 59th International Art Exhibition at the Venice Biennale. With a groundbreaking exhibition of new work that addresses some of the most pressing issues of our time, Kihara’s work interrogates and dismantles gender roles, consumerism, (mis)representation, and colonial legacies in the Pacific. This publication contextualizes Kihara’s works from her entire career, which puncture and expose, queer and question dominant narratives, turning history on its head.” (Adapted from Catalogue)
Vā : stories by women of the moana
“Stories that tell Covid how we really feel, where a centipede god watches on with wry humour and wrath, where a sexy Samoan goes on a hot Tinder date in Honolulu, where a New Zealand doctor is horrified to be stuck at her cousin’s kava drink up in Fiji, where moana people travel the stars and navigate planets, stories where ancestors and atua live and breathe. Stories that defy colonial boundaries, and draw on the storytelling and oratory that is our inheritance. Immerse yourself in the intrigue, fantasy, humour and magic of beautiful strong stories by 38 writers from across the moana.” (Catalogue)
