\u2018Deeply disappointing\u2019<\/p>\n
Tautai operations director Dr Olivia Laita said the funding outcome was \u201cdeeply disappointing\u201d.<\/p>\n
She posted a statement online confirming the loss of CNZ funding beyond 2026.<\/p>\n
One of Samoan artist Fatu Feu’u’s artworks displayed at the Rotorua Museum in 2003. The artwork is called Fa’aola mo taeao \u2013 conserve for tomorrow. Photo \/ Kelvin Teixeira<\/p>\n
\u201cThis funding decision marks a significant turning point for Tautai,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur board and team have been taking the time to absorb what this decision means for our organisation, our artists and the communities we serve … we will be reviewing what this means for Tautai\u2019s future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tautai has been a touchstone for many New Zealand-based Pacific artists and creatives since its founding in the 1980s by Samoan contemporary artist Papali\u2019i Fatu Feu\u2019u.<\/p>\n
His goal was to support and promote Pacific visual artists while inspiring the next generation. At the time, he had been inspired by artist Colin McCahon.<\/p>\n
Feu\u2019u told the Herald he was still an emerging artist when another Kiwi artist and friend, Tony Fomison, introduced him to McCahon. <\/p>\n
Samoan artist Papali’i Fatu Feu’u, pictured in 2010, started the Tautai Pacific Contemporary Arts Trust to help showcase and inspire Pacific artists. Photo \/ Kellie Blizard<\/p>\n
\u201cI was so lucky. I was told I was the only Pacific artist who ever met McCahon before he passed away. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe said: \u2018We are waiting for you, Pacific artists, to make a contribution to the New Zealand art scene\u2019. And here we are after 40 years. <\/p>\n
\u201cIn the last 10 years, I\u2019ve said to my friends: \u2018I think we\u2019ve done it \u2013 we\u2019ve fulfilled his request\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Heartbreaking\u2019 for next generation of Pacific artists<\/p>\n
Artist Michel <\/a>Tuffery<\/a>, born in Wellington, described the news about the trust as \u201cheartbreaking\u201d.<\/p>\n He remembers being a young artist, in the late 1980s, trying to get a break in the art world after studying at Otago\u2019s School of Fine Arts. <\/p>\n He and fellow artist Lyle Penisula had their first exhibitions at what was then the Fale Samoa on Karangahape Rd, Auckland, thanks to Tautai.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s done so much for all of us … not just for starting artists\u2019 careers, but also as an opportunity to meet the old ones.\u201d<\/p>\n Tuffery has since completed many international art projects and is working on a piece for a war memorial in France. In 2008, he was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to art.<\/p>\n He said Pacific art was still undervalued and it would be a huge loss if Tautai could not continue after this year.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re denying that chance for those young ones … the new ones that are coming through \u2013 my heart goes out to them.\u201d<\/p>\n He said there was a huge demand for Pasifika in the art scene worldwide and encouraged budding creatives to continue their work.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s why you need Tautai \u2013 so we don\u2019t limit ourselves here to Aotearoa, because the world wants us.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can see from the Western perspective, but we can also go back to our Samoan or Cook Islands side. That\u2019s our luxury,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n In 2020, then Prime Minister Dame Jacinda Ardern officially opened Tautai\u2019s new gallery on Karangahape Rd, which showcases art and exhibitions by Pasifika artists year-round. <\/p>\n \u2018Quality of applications high\u2019<\/p>\n CNZ told the Herald in a statement that its arts organisation and groups fund is a contestable fund and applications are assessed on their merits.<\/p>\n \u201cThe quality of applications was exceptionally high, with demand for funding significantly exceeding the available support.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the same time, we are also navigating a constrained financial environment, managing reduced Government funding alongside a static lotteries funding path.<\/p>\n \u201cWe … remain committed to supporting Pacific arts and artists in our ongoing work,\u201d the spokeswoman said.<\/p>\n Feu\u2019u is now 80 years old, a grandfather and great-grandfather. He is still creating artworks \u2013 albeit with the left hand helping to lift the right hand, armed with a paintbrush, because of a shoulder injury.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a slow process, but I\u2019m still painting.\u201d<\/p>\n He hopes young Pasifika will continue to look to the arts for a career and life purpose, he said. <\/p>\n \u201cWe believe in the arts. It can help heal the soul and get careers for a lot of young people. We can\u2019t all be All Blacks and great athletes. So we turn to art to make a living.\u201d<\/p>\n Another hit to Pacific arts<\/p>\nMichel Tuffery pictured with some of his works in 2008. Photo \/ Andrew Bonallack<\/p>\n
Manu Aute Rua (kite) created by artist Michel Tuffery. Photo \/ Rosalie Willis<\/p>\n
Father and son Lyle Penisula (left) and Johnny Penisula in February, 2007. They are among Pacific artists who have been supported by Tautai over the years. Photo \/ Babiche Martens<\/p>\n
Then Prime Minister Dame Jacinda Ardern, also Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister, opens the Tautai Gallery in Auckland in July 2020. Photo \/ Tautai Contemporary Pacific Arts<\/p>\n