Vā Ta’alo le Tautalatala

Sālvādor Brown

Sālvādor Brown is an Aotearoa/New Zealand born Samoan/Tuvaluan, Gaelic, Norseman. He is the son of Rosanna Raymond and was raised in the Pasifika arts scene. He is a sound and visual practitioner, videographer and photographer, and uses his knowledge of Tāonga Pūoro in his practice. Brown is in the first phase of his research project Measina Logo - Treasured Sound, which looks at Samoan musical instruments and how they are connected across Moana nui a Kiwa/the Pacific Ocean. The artist recently showed his soundscape DigiTā VāSā at Tautai Pacific Arts Trust in the exhibition Moana Waiwai, Moana Pāti. Brown is working alongside dancer Rachel Ruckstuhl-Mann on the relationship between sound and body through the story of Hine-ahu-one.

Brown was the Kaiwhakatangitangi (musician) for the opening of the Pacific Sisters: Fashion Activists exhibition at the Auckland Art Gallery. He was the Acti.VA.tor for In*ter*is*land Collective in London for the Oceania exposition and at the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris in 2019, and participated in the Inaugural London SaVĀge K'lub in 2011. Brown documented these events for the Queensland Art Gallery's 8th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art in 2015.

Thomas Carroll

Thomas Carroll’s (Ngāti Maru, Hauraki; Pākehā) long time interest in music and sculpture led him to discover and connect with Ngā taonga pūoro - Māori musical instruments. This connection was found when he began discovering his whakapapa – genealogy - while living in Melbourne years ago. Carroll’s pieces are the results of eight years of research and experimentation. Supported by one of the many networks of Ngā taonga pūoro makers and players in Aotearoa/New Zealand, Carroll has developed a voice with ngā taonga pūoro that conveys the artform as a living and evolving entity. In his practice, Carroll is open to a diverse range of materials, including bronze, glass, sand and timber. The energy and love for ngā taonga pūoro is evident in every mahi (work).

Precious Clark

Precious Clark is from the Ngāti Whātua tribe and is a proud practitioner of tikanga Māori (Māori culture). She has been a singer, songwriter and performer for over 35 years.

Clark had the honour of performing the karanga at the opening ceremony of the Rugby World Cup held in Auckland, Aotearoa/New Zealand, touching millions of viewers around the world. Clark is a founding member of the SaVĀge K’lub and continues to grow her performance by pushing personal and public boundaries, confronting cultural restrictions formed through contemporary mis-analysis. She has participated in several SaVĀge K’lub soirées, including the Asia Pacific Triennial at QAGOMA in 2015 and the Festival of Pacific Arts in Hawaii 2018.

With her legal background, Clark is the corporate SaVĀge, and successfully runs her own business and governs and chairs a range of boards. SaVĀge K’lub provides Clark the VĀ - space, time and connection) to reveal her cultural creativity to a global audience.

Numangatini (Numa) Fraser Mackenzie

Numangatini (Numa) Fraser Mackenzie Mangaian (kuki airani) pakeha (English/Scottish) is a Canadian-born interdisciplinary artist who has been a hard-core member of SaVAge K'lub for over 10 years.

Mackenzie’s art practice started in party/street culture in Canada, before he found his way to his Moana - Pacific culture. The arts opened his gaze to his ancestors’ tools, practices, knowledge systems and mastering of their environment, inspiring him to deepen his connection through tatau - tattoo, deep sea voyaging, carving, and kava traditions.

More recently, Numa has been refining his skills in carving wood blocks for printing and subsequently running printing workshops. He is fed by the childlike joy of the participants and by creating access for moana communities to their traditional motifs.

His work connects him with moana communities willing to untether themselves from colonial ties to explore how ancestral values are relevant in modern life. Notably, Numa created the first international indigenous holiday 'Cook the Captain Day' to be celebrated by all wanting to promote indigenous pride.

Tahiarii Yoram Pariente

Tahiarii Yoram Pariente is a researcher, artist, lecturer and cultural repository. His intellect was honed in European universities and his lightness and humour sprouted from the soil of Polynesia. Raised between France and Tahiti, Pariente studied commerce and linguistics in formal schools, and celestial navigation at the school of the ancients.

A licensed boat captain, the artist has worked in information technology, conservation, and luxury tourism. Pariente has been involved in the restoration of ancient artefacts and the revival of traditional arts since the 2000s. He has been invited to London, Paris, Auckland and Honolulu to speak about the deep history of Polynesia and has been interviewed for documentaries produced in several countries.

Rosanna Raymond

Sistar S’pacific, aka Rosanna Raymond, is an innovator of the contemporary Pasifika art scene, a long-standing member of the art collective the Pacific Sisters, and the founding member of the SaVĀge K’lub. Raymond has achieved international renown for her performances, installations, body adornment and spoken word. A published writer and poet, her works are held by museums and private collectors throughout the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. In 2018 Raymond was awarded the CNZ Pacific Senior Artist acknowledging her contribution to the arts. Raymond is a former Chester Dale Fellow at the Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City and this year was appointed as a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in recognition of her services to Pacific Arts.