Te Manawa, a Māori artist-led collective to lead transformational change in the creative sector in Tāmaki Makaurau, will be developed within the Te Taumata Toi-a-Iwi whānau over the next two years.

Te Manawa is a ‘by Māori for Māori’ solutions approach to strengthening individual creatives and in turn strengthening the sector. The concept for Te Manawa evolved from conversations between Te Taumata and ngā toi Māori creative practitioners to build knowledge about the needs of artists and their aspirations for the ngā toi Māori sector. These were initiated in order to help Te Taumata understand how best it could put into action its commitment to support the Mana Motuhake of the Māori arts sector in Tāmaki and will champion the role Māori arts and the contribution Māori artists make to the arts sector and the wellbeing of all in Tāmaki.

Facilitated by Te Taumata Pou Hononga Eynon Delamere and Toi Māori lead Chantelle Whaiapu, these conversations helped Te Taumata build a road map for enabling Māori-led sector development. This included the creation of Te Manawa, which will provide opportunities for ngā toi Māori practitioners to connect and contribute to identifying opportunities to strengthen and grow the ngā toi Māori, providing both a physical and virtual meeting place to support the individual creative and in turn strengthen the sector.

Over the coming months Eynon and Chantelle will work with a leadership advisory rōpu drawn from the Tāmaki Makaurau ngā toi Māori sector to plan development of Te Manawa and establish priorities for action to support the sector.

Te Taumata will provide funding and manaakitanga, along with strategic and administrative support as Te Manawa is established. This financial and professional support is a practical expression of our commitment to partner to support Māori-led development of Ngā Toi Māori networks and infrastructure.

Read about the background and approach for Te Manawa here.