Finding a sense of place in the Pacific diaspora: Pasifika performance in Aotearoa

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Title Finding a sense of place in the Pacific diaspora: Pasifika performance in Aotearoa
Creator Contributors
Abstract/Description Indigenous Māori cultural identity and artistic production are among the primary signifiers of Aotearoa/New Zealand to the rest of the world. But where do art works produced by Pacific Island (Pasifika) migrants and their descendants stand in relation to Indigeneity in Aotearoa? This article discusses a diversity of ways in which migrant cultures from the Pacific Islands have re-invented the stage as a place to stand in Aotearoa/ New Zealand, and how place is re-performed through theatre and performance in relation to the Pacific diaspora. I explore the place of Pasifika migrants in Aotearoa through analysing performances in theatres and galleries that demonstrate the range of Pasifika performance and how it relates to place, highlighting collaboration, activism and cultural identity. These include: 'Culture for Sale' (2012), a performance art work by Samoan artist Shigeyuki Kihara; 'At the Wake' (2012), a play by Victor Rodger; 'The White Guitar' (2015), a play by Fa'amoana, Matthias and Malo Luafutu, produced by the New Zealand/ Fijian theatre company The Conch; and an exhibition showcasing the transgressive fashion activism of performance art collective 'Pacific Sisters'.
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Source Australasian Drama Studies, ADSA, VIC
Issue 73
Page 276-305
Date Issued October 2019
Language English
ISSN 0810-4123
Citation David O'Donnell, Finding a sense of place in the Pacific diaspora: Pasifika performance in Aotearoa, Australasian Drama Studies, 73, October 2019, 276-305
Data Set AusStage
Resource Identifier 68795