Kia ora koutou katoa! Ka mihi ki ngā uri o te rohe nei, ratou e noho ana ki runga i te whenua o te upoko o te ika. E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā karangarangatanga maha, tēnā koutou.
Welcome to the Kia Mau Festival 2017. Māori. Pasifika. Indigenous. Theatre. Dance. A place where artists and audience alike enter into the joy of losing yourself in the dance.
Kia Mau Festival was created in 2015 as a platform for the diverse voices of indigenous creativity, to challenge the idea of what Māori, Pasifika and Indigenous theatre and dance is and enrich the Māori and Pasifika creative economy in the Wellington region. In 2017 the festival will have over 130 Māori, Pasifika and Indigenous artists performing in the Wellington region.
Kia Mau Festival is about courage, creativity, people coming together and sharing, knowing that we all have other lives; we make this a place where we come together and act as one.
In 2017, the works presented range from the epic to the outrageously comic to the intensely dramatic – in all a celebration.
Kia Mau Festival is a conscious act of commitment and awareness from the artists, companies, venues and partners. Special mention must go to the Wellington, Upper Hutt and Porirua City councils and Wellington Regional Amenities Fund.
A journey – this is Kia Mau. In te reo Māori, Kia Mau is a call to hold fast. Kia Mau is about us all. Here. Now. Join us.
Ngā mihi mahana,
Hone Kouka
Curator Kia Mau Festival
‘…vital and exciting… the country’s best annual celebration of theatre.’ PANTOGRAPH PUNCH
