Arts, culture & heritage
Projects for, by & with the migrant communities
of Whakatū Nelson
Kia ora | Hello
Mauri | Fakaalofa lahi atu | Guten tag | Talofa | Kia Orana | नमस्ते
Mālō e lelei | ہیلو | བཀྲ་ཤིས་བདེ་ལེགས | ၸၤဝ်ႈၼႃၵူၼီ | Xin chào | សួស្តី | สวัสดี | 안녕하세요 Ciao | Bonjour | ¡Hola! | Привет | | Olá | හෙලෝ | Helo | Grüezi | Hej Helló | Cześć | Halo | مرحباً | Γειά σας | Merhaba | سلام | Aloha Fakaalofa lahi atu | Bula | こんにちは | 你好 | হ্যালো | Hujambo | Selamat sejahtera | Привіт | Salut | Kumusta | Hallo | Talofa
Stage One Summary
The first stage of the Shared Communities Initiative (SCI) in Whakatū Nelson ran from September 2023 to July 2024. It focused on celebrating diversity and bringing together migrants, former refugees, and the wider community through arts, culture, and heritage projects. Overall, it was a success—connecting different communities, creating meaningful projects, and setting the stage for future collaboration in Whakatū Nelson’s multicultural scene.
Kia ora!
Celebrate your arts,
culture & heritage
by creating a project
Projects
In total, 64 community-led projects were supported. This translates to an average of six projects per month, showcasing a vibrant and active multicultural landscape in Whakatū Nelson.
The self-generated projects were notably diverse, reflecting the varied interests and cultural expressions of the communities. They include:
Projects were hosted across 26 different venues, ranging from private homes to community facilities, schools, cinemas, parks, and private event venues that familiarising communities with previously unknown venues around the city.
Projects varied in duration from few hours to 12 months, and beyond.
Are you a member of Whakatū Nelson’s vibrant former refugee or migrant community?
Do you have a great idea for an arts, cultural, or heritage activity or event for your community?
It could be:
A cultural celebration
An arts project
A craft project
A language or literary event
A cultural musical event
The options are unlimited.
We can help with:
Planning your project
Finding a venue
Cutting through the paperwork, licenses,
health & safety, funding applications etcConnecting you to opportunities
Marketing & promotion of your project
General support
Large or small / within your community,
or shared with the wider community / one-off or regular
We are excited to be able to assist you with your project!
Become a member of the
Shared Communities Advisory Group
Register Your Interest with the Cultural Navigator
Please share information about your project by filling out the Project Registration Form or you can download it, and deliver it to the Cultural Navigator in person.
If you would prefer, you can also send us a voice message or a video.
Voices of our Community
As a filmmaker my goal is to challenge the perception and the assumption that we as migrants, refugees, muslims and people of colour should just feel “happy to be here”. While people are incredibly grateful to come to countries like New Zealand, the emotional truth is more complicated than that. Growing up in Aotearoa, film and theater played a huge role in my life. It helped me adapt to a new country, learn a new language and make friends. It is the reason I chose the arts as a career.
— Ahmed Osman - Filmaker
Some communities want to protect their culture and their heritage, they want to integrate all generations into sharing knowledge and promoting those practices that identify them as a part of their ethnicity.
— Norma Sequera - Victory Community Centre | Te Puna Hauora o Wairepo
We recognise the importance of arts, culture and heritage to these communities, as highlighted in the Shared Communities Engagement Report August 2022. The ability for these communities to express their culture through the arts is fundamental to their wellbeing and development of a sense of belonging and identity in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Barbara Whitaker - Pathways to Settlement manager
New Zealand Red Cross
This application will continue to lead our minority communities to a place where we can be supported by a dedicated navigator who will guide our communities through the many barriers we face in sharing our culture and heritage within our own communities and the wider community.
— Daniel Hytongue - Fa'alapotopotoga Tagata Samoa
A particular mode through which they can improve their settlement journey and stave off isolation is by practising the art, culture and heritage of their homeland and bringing that beauty to share with their new community here in Nelson.
— Luke Scowcroft - Manager, English Language Partners Nelson
This fund will help our elder community members to do their arts and craft, and share those skills and knowledge with our young people. This helps prepare our young people so they can keep our culture for the future. We are also hopeful that other communities can hold their cultural events like we have.
