Te Haerenga Hono-The Connective Journey

Taurima Vibes is an indigenous-led arts and health brokership organisation with leadership roles across both sectors. Multiple organisations engage us to aid their navigation of:

● local mental health issues in the creative sector.
● strategic relationship building with Māori and Indigenous peoples/organisations.
● problematic internal organisation relationships.
● working with ‘other’ communities authentically and effectively.

The guidance of Indigenous Māori concepts is integral to all facets of our work and is vital in the collective cultivation of the Te Haerenga Hono initiative.

Te Haerenga Hono (THH) is an ongoing initiative that investigates the benefits of creating connective communities-of-practice models involving national arts organisations, creatives and institutions, which are embedded with sound wellbeing practices and balanced with guidance from Te Ao Māori wellbeing and tikanga process. THH is a working model and currently includes participation from 10 national arts organisations, with cross-sector support from academic, medical, mental health, and arts professionals.

● What constitutes ‘good’ care models for creative practice?
● How do we help embed the notion that care models and policies should never be ‘one size fits all’, and should be built in consultation and alongside those it is meant to benefit?
● What can specificity, wrapped in a sound framework look like?
● How do we help shift the rhetoric that anything outside of a colonised lens or context, is relegated to a ‘holistic’ box or considered inferior practice?

Using Te Ao Māori, the guidance of tikanga process and knowledge, our current focus questions are:

Questions & CONSIDERATIONS:

What factors should be considered before implementing ‘The Arts of the Baojai’ activities with individuals or groups to ensure they do not negatively affect emotions?

What preparations should artists or facilitators use ‘The Arts of the Baojai’ programs make before commencing an activity?

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Is it necessary to consider the relationship between participants and facilitators, and does it impact the execution or effectiveness of the activities?

To what extent can participants ethically share personal stories, thoughts, and feelings within the framework of the program, and how should this be managed?

How should the preservation of participants' personal narratives that emerge within the context of the Arts of the Baojai project be handled?

Project Lead Facilitators:

Taurima Vibes Trust Kaiwhakahaere-

Borni Te Rongopai Tukiwaho

Project Community Partners

Dr Renee Liang, Tainui Tukiwaho, Te Pou Theatre, University of Auckland (Dr Roshini Peiris-John, Dr Rodrigo Romalho, Dr Arier Lee, Dr Vartika Sharma, Dr Rachel Simon-Kumar, Annie Chiang, Nikki Singh), Dr Fran Kewene, Dunedin Arts Trust, Oneonesix, Rotorua Arts Village, Jaqcui Moyes(Homeground,) Taimi Allan (South Australian Mental Health Commissioner), FLOCK- Hobson Street Theatre Company, He Waka Eke Noa, NZ Comedy Trust, Te Taumata Toi a Iwi, Te Ora Auaha, Sarah Macombee, Mind and Body.

Expanded Summary:

The overall concept for THH began as a (national) response to creative organisations and creatives feeling the need to constantly validate their worth to funders, to support networks and often each other. Further, suicide ideation themes, questions of ‘value’, unsafe work environments and the impact of the current system on the mental health of creatives became prevalent in conversations held across the country. These issues were all exacerbated with the onset of Covid-19.

In 2018 Taurima Vibes introduced an alternative way to approach collective working and collective care with the organisations that asked for our guidance. As a kaupapa Māori organisation we are guided by Māori concepts and process, manaakitanga, whakawhanaungatanga , kotahitanga . These concepts are inherently a part of how we function as Māori, and it was clear that our invitations were being given by those searching for bridging guidance (between te ao Māori and te ao Pākehā). Using the concepts of Iwi, Hapu, Rōpu and Kotahitanga, we began to examine how creating care strategy specificity, for individual groups or organisations, actually fortified unity and bolstered more recognised pākehā concepts such as Community of Practice.

Since 2021, we have spent time defining which of the projects we have been invited to collaborate with would be beneficial to concentrate on, and how we can use said projects to create a base study for implementing care approaches.

By mid-2022 we identified three projects. We have now been working on these projects for just over a year each. At face value, they could have contrasting needs if only viewed for their differences, but their human needs reveal strong similarities and alignments. All three projects have a vast reach, so not only are there benefits for the creators, but also there are benefits that permeate out to those who engage with the work nationally. Each project potentially has long-lasting implications for multiple communities.

THESE THREE PROJECTS ARE:
‘My Name is Laverne’

A touring theatrical musical project created by an artist living with chronic and debilitating illness (MS) that is slowly declining. The show themes are centred around generational trauma, abandonment and problematic adoption. THH has worked with the creators to understand how attention to care begins with the creation space, is critical in the translation of process to performers, that transparent and honest communications about healthcare management is vital for all involved, and how care might permeate through to the audience.

‘The Sun and the Wind’

A touring project created by and for Māori with main themes of disassociation, suicide, loss and grief and indigenous generational trauma. Kaupapa Māori projects demand specificity of care in general. TTH has also focused on what the particular care needs are from the initial creation phase through to production. For example, at the production stage, specific care processes are needed in relation to:

● Engagement with venues and communities during pre-production.

● Cast, crew and internal care factors during rehearsals, performance and post-show.

● Understanding the care needs of the audience through messaging, pre-show, during performance and post-show.

● Seeking post-show feedback and data to understand how the work might benefit the wider community.

‘Thriving at Crossroads'

A youth-centred translatory research project, focused on understanding the lived experiences of intersectional ethnic minority youth in Aotearoa. Thriving at Crossroads is one of the few projects that will use arts as a tool as well as an outcome to address health inequities for intersectional ethnic young people. The project is led by the University of Auckland (lead rōpu mentioned above), initially activated in 2021 as a four-stage research project currently activating in the final stage. TTH is exploring the multifaceted care processesin this project and is supporting co-design and collaborative approach woven throughout the initiative.

The Unexpected:

Engaging in the Arts of the Baojai activities with the elderly population has revealed that activities involving storytelling through writing, reading narratives, and role-playing scenarios induce a profound sense of connection among certain elderly participants. This engenders extensive sharing among group members and sparks introspective questions regarding their nearly 70 years of life experiences. This process has led to the emergence of a phenomenon akin to "dilemma" where the release of a lifetime of accumulated stress during their later years prompts them to "turn back" and reevaluate the causes that had rendered their seven decades fraught with tension.

The origins of this tension can be traced to paternal pressure, a force they had vehemently opposed. Curiously, however, they have assimilated their paternal traits and worldviews, employing them in their own lives. The arts of the Baojai session, which unlock avenues for memory exploration and restoration, have a pronounced impact on the participants' emotional well-being. This raises a pivotal inquiry: To what extent can activities centered around the theme of "memory or inner conflicts" be orchestrated, and how should they be orchestrated to ensure minimal disruption to the emotional equilibrium of the participants?

…This korero is perfectly timed as I find myself in the throes of the next phase of my work coinciding with another phase of the disease. I find myself poleaxed by the MS at the moment, accompanied by waves of grief and fear. How do I continue? Manage? Be transparent? Recognise? Expect? Acknowledge? Have perspective on something (the disease) so close to me I am often unaware of the impact it has on getting my creations in front of an audience. How can I effectively mitigate the effects on me of having to operate in an industrial model of operations and outcomes in the arts?...

— Sarah Macombee
OUTCOME:

We recognise that alternative care initiatives are constantly being activated/created, but we find ourselves in the very privileged position of consulting and navigating both the arts and health sectors on multiple levels. Our intention is to understand the gaps, not reinvent the wheel. To create approaches resilient enough to form solid, working frameworks for diverse projects and contexts, whilst having ample flexibility to give creatives and organisations the opportunity to tailor frameworks to their own specific needs. All with the guidance of Te Ao Māori and tikanga. For us, it’s imperative to remember that whilst we aim to understand best care processes, we also need to leave room for wero/challenge, the ability to take risks and possibly even room to fail.

We will use the data extracted from the Te Haerenga Hono journey alongside existing in-house resources as templates to create tangible resource materials.

RESOURCES

To learn more, or for more information please see:

Case Stories ✲ Case Stories ✲ Case Stories ✲ Case Stories ✲ Case Stories ✲