Giles Burton, Festival Director | Nelson Fringe Festival
Here in Whakatū Nelson we have a diverse range of cultures, especially as we continue to welcome different refugees groups to the city. As a Festival we are aware that there is a hidden pot of cultural treasure within these communities, work we know the wider community would love to experience.
The Consortium have already done incredible work researching and presenting a report on migrant communities - the research and findings is a wake-up call - especially for organisations like the Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū, for example, revealing how intimidating or ‘foreign’ it is to go into an art gallery let alone to try and do something like hire our Theatre for an event- whether that is the booking processes, different understandings, navigating ‘rules and expectations,’ or that ever thorny barrier, cost. We prided ourselves on being accessible - perhaps we have successfully removed some of the physical barriers, but not other barriers that preclude all members of our communities enjoying, participating, or importantly seeing, sharing and celebrating their cultural expressions.
Julie Catchpole, Director The Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū
The proposal to appoint a Cultural Navigator to support migrant and refugee background communities in Nelson would be extremely valuable.
A Museum’s role is to tell the stories of our communities. We know that it is vital for people, especially children and youth, to see themselves reflected in our cultural institutions. Yet as one of the smaller regional museums of New Zealand, we struggle with insufficient staff resources to create ongoing and meaningful engagement with all the diverse Nelson communities. The proposed Cultural Navigator role would be hugely beneficial in creating a bridge linking us with these residents, enabling us to tell their stories in their own words and to collect meaningful objects relating to their experiences.