Creative ID: 790
My arts or creative practice (including details about my specific focus within that art form/practice and my strengths)
I am essentially an artist disguised as a teacher and have spent the past 35 years in the classroom as a teacher, artist, performer, singer, dancer, guitarist, and theatre practitioner alongside my other teaching expectations. I have a practice of making and creating art works across many disciplines, from ‘world building’ to writing songs, creating stories, painting murals, backdrops, sets, designing and creating costumes, to programme and poster design, to acting, singing, dancing, painting, printmaking - pretty much the works in any artistic realm! Currently I am focusing on the visual arts with a Te Ao Māori lens through a second degree, this time with Te Pukenga where I am midway through a Bachelor of Māori Arts.
My previous arts qualifications have been in the disciplines of drama and dance. I have always worked with the child at the heart of the mahi. Who they are, where they come from, what their interests are, their strengths and their needs. My passion is for the work to be the words and experiences of the youth that I work with and for them to see themselves in the mahi; therefore having agency over what we create together. I am a founding member of a nationwide trust. We hold expertise in the inquiry pedagogy known as ‘Mantle of the Expert’. Using this methodology we can build a community together, encounter problems and address issues whilst using the curriculum in a meaningful way to process and resolve. It is a thoroughly engaging and immersive way of working. You may be aware of the work of Dorothy Heathcote in the UK (where the methodology had its genesis in the 70’s) and with others throughout the world since then including expertise within our trust and our own New Zealand legend in this methodology. You can find out more about the trust online and on Facebook (links available on request).
I’ve enjoyed working with local communities and local legends contain a wealth of possibilities to explore. A career highlight includes a Ministry of Education commissioned case study (title available on request). As arts advisors we worked alongside a local primary with the local legend of Maikuku and were then invited to present our mahi at an international arts conference in Tuscon, Arizona. You can read about the project here online (link available on request).
As a teacher of many years of experience I have a whole raft of approaches and expertise I can bring to the table and would be flexible with a school and their aspiration with what we create and how we go about it. Together we could make something amazing, “Ko Koe ki tēnā, ko ahau ki tēnei kīwai o te kete” You at that, and I at this handle of the basket.
My track record of experience and success - or the track record of experience and success of the creative or artist that I will partner
I have specialist arts training and practical experience as a classroom teacher (all subjects including ‘The Arts’). My formal dance and drama qualifications are complimented with a more recent Māori Visual Arts degree. I have always sought to share my passion for the arts and have been a frequent host of numerous workshops throughout my classroom teaching career and including during my advisory days. I have conducted workshops and presentations in schools where I’ve worked and also regionally, nationally and internationally. My work has been featured in several forums and resources made to support the implementation of the Arts curriculum.
Describe the experience you have had working with children or young people, teaching or facilitating creative processes
I have had 35 years teaching practice in classrooms throughout Northland and across all age groups with a strong focus on the arts. My classroom teaching in the primary sector was across all levels, and post advisory days I moved into secondary teaching with the specialist capacity of teaching drama from year 7 through to year 13. Working with teenagers in a devising capacity has been a passion. For students to have their own stories and their words come to life on the stage is a hugely rewarding experience for all. Providing ākonga with the means to physicalise their thinking through dance adds to the richness of the experience.
Why I want to be part of the Creatives in Schools programme and how my involvement will link to my creative practice
My teaching and artistic skills need to be used to best effect and impact. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my teaching career thus far, but in the next chapter of my career I can afford some flexibility and I would like to focus on the arts and to support teachers to broaden their capacity as arts educators themselves. The arts are the most transformational space for humanity and it is my belief that we need the arts in our lives more than ever before. The arts connect and centre us as individuals and as a society. They have the capacity to calm and heal us whilst helping us to make meaning of the world. Creativity is often a collective endeavour and I know I will continue to grow in my own creative practice when working alongside others. The ‘tuakana/teina’ relationship will see us all flourish.