Photo: Provided
Artist, arts producer and activist Jo Walsh has just returned home to Aotearoa from the UK after almost 20 years encouraging and supporting other expat artists from around the Pacific.
One of her proudest achievements is the Interisland Collective a Pacific Island arts and culture hub for artists, curators and academics based a long way from home, in London.
Jos's brought a piece of the collective home with her to share at this weekend's Te Whāinga: A Culture Lab in Auckland, that's examining the term civility agains the backdrop of the ongoing impassioned debates over the Tuia 250 Commemorations of James Cook's first landing in Aotearoa.
While Aotearoa New Zealand's 250th commemorations have generated impassioned debates around the country, England has also been marking the occasion - with pomp and ceremony. That's been challenging for Jo who was a founding member of the Polynesian SaVAge K'lub in Auckland before she left.
Jo has been an "ambassador for decolonisation" working with major institutions, an activist for repatriation of ancestral histories and is focused on increasing the volume and quantity of Pacific voices and activations around the world.
Te Whāinga: A Culture Lab on Civility in Auckland examines the term civility in parallel to the Tuia 250 Commemorations with original art experiences, performances and interactive activities.
