When interdisciplinary artist Pelenakeke Brown (pictured) takes part in the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture (FestPAC), she is looking forward to forming new connections with artists from around the region.
Of Samoan descent, Pelenakeke was born in Auckland and raised by her grandmother.
The artist’s practice explores the intersections between disability theory and Sāmoan concepts, and it spans visual art, text, and performance.
Pelenakeke has been included in the 85-member Aotearoa New Zealand delegation attending FestPAC, staged in Honolulu, Hawai’i from 6-16 June 2024.
Launched in 1972 to halt the erosion of traditional practices through ongoing cultural exchange, the event is the touted as the world’s largest celebration of indigenous Pacific peoples.
This year’s FestPAC theme Ho’oulu Lāhui – Regenerating Oceania is based on voyaging and promises to restore the spirit of Pacific culture with artists across the Pacific nations.
New Zealand’s participation in FestPAC is Māori-led, with a fellow contingent of Aotearoa-based Pacific artists making up the delegation.
Pelenakeke says she is motivated to make the most out of this unique opportunity, and her first visit to Hawai’i.
“I am really excited to be joining the FestPAC delegation,” she adds.
“Attending FestPAC means to me the opportunity to connect with the wider Pacific artistic community and make connections for those of us who live here and meet those based in Hawai'i and other islands.
“While I am there, I hope to meet other artists, get to know the artists in the delegation and just share our practices and have the opportunity to connect.
“We often have opportunities to go overseas to Europe but to have the opportunity to spend time in the Pacific with other artists is really incredible.”
Pelenakeke is no stranger to working abroad, having presented performances, and exhibitions, as well as published writing and held residencies in New York, California, Berlin, Hamburg, London as well as in Aotearoa.
She has worked with The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gibney Dance Center, The New York Library for the Performing Arts and other institutions globally.
Selected residencies include Eyebeam, The Laundromat Project, and Denniston Hill.
Her work has been written about in Art in America, The New York Times and Art Agenda, and in 2020 she was recognised with a Creative New Zealand Pacific Toa award.
She is informed by the Samoan concept of the vā - relationships across time and space, crip time and is continually trying to find sites to investigate that hold both of these dual theories.
Pelenakeke’s work straddles many mediums, is it a poem, a visual work or a choreographic score, and she is looking forward to showcasing her mahi in Hawai’i come June.
Additionally, she has exhibitions happening later this year in New Zealand and New York, as well as redeveloping a theatre show Siblings which she is directing.
Visit the FestPAC website for more information about the upcoming celebration of Pacific arts and culture.