Into The Great Ocean: a talanoa

Join us on the final day of Tala o le tau for a talanoa with leading academics and artists as we explore multidisciplinary responses to the climate crisis from our place in Moana-Nui-a-Kiwa.

This panel discussion will be chaired by Cilla Brown and include Yuki Kihara, Guy Sinclair and Jasmine Tuiā. All are welcome, registrations are encouraged.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Cilla Brown is of Samoan heritage, with ancestral ties to Paia in the north of Savai‘i and Fagaloa in the south of Upolu. Based in Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland), she works at the intersection of arts, environmental education, and Pacific community engagement. As an Arts Administrator, Environmental Educator, and Researcher, Cilla’s mahi focuses on suiga o le tau (climate change) adaptation and the role of indigenous knowledge in strengthening Pacific community resilience. Her Master’s research explored how traditional ecological knowledge guides community responses to environmental change in Samoa. Cilla delivers environmental education using immersive technologies to engage young people in local environmental issues. She also serves as Project Leader at Pacific Dance NZ, where she facilitates cultural initiatives including the Pacific Dance Festival and a range of community programmes that celebrate heritage and contemporary dance forms. Through teaching Samoan Siva to young girls, Cilla nurtures cultural identity and pride, grounding the next generation in their ancestral knowledge. Her vision is to weave together environmental awareness and cultural education, empowering youth to adapt to suiga o le tau while deepening their connection to siosiomaga (environment) and cultural heritage.

Yuki Kihara (b. 1975) is a Japanese-Sāmoan conceptual artist based in Sāmoa. Her interdisciplinary practice challenges historical narratives and their socio-political impact on contemporary culture. Kihara integrates Sāmoan aesthetics and cultural elements through diverse media, including performance, sculpture, film, photography, and curation. In 2022, she represented Aotearoa New Zealand at the 59th Venice Biennale; and is currently affiliated with Ecological Art Practices, a research cluster at THE NEW INSTITUTE Centre for Environmental Humanities (NICHE), Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.

Guy Fiti Sinclair is a Samoan New Zealander, born and raised in Papua New Guinea. He is an Associate Professor and the Associate Dean Pacific at Auckland Law School. His current research, supported by a Rutherford Discovery Fellowship from Te Apārangi | Royal Society of New Zealand, focusses on international law and governance in Oceania.

Jasmine Tuiā (Apia Sāmoa) is a tapa maker who uses embroidery to think about Sāmoan material culture and memory. From the villages of Matautu Lefaga, Falefa Anoama’a and Malifa Sāmoa, Jasmine explores her familial connections to these places through Sāmoan storytelling techniques and her tapa practice. Her work passions revolve around community arts access and facilitation. Tuiā currently works at Tāmaki Paenga Hira as the Community Navigator for Te Aho Mutunga Kore Fibre and Textile Centre. Jasmine’s role entails collaborative work with Māori and Pacific communities and the museum staff to enrich Tāmaki Paenga Hira’s Fibre and Textile collections, informing sustainable engagement and maximising community access and care of taonga/measina/koloa.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Image: (1) Cilla Brown by Leigh Takirau (2) Yuki Kihara by Ralph Brown.