Lukautim Solwara (look out for the ocean)

Smoke rises. Song welcomes. Bodies are adorned. Enter a space carrying culture, ceremony and regalia of our longest living cultures.

Next Wave, Australia’s leading organisation dedicated to supporting emerging artists, and Arts Centre Melbourne present Lukautim Solwara (look out for the ocean) as part of the Asia Pacific Triennial of Performing Arts. Led by Samoan artist Rosanna Raymond, this new cross-disciplinary collaborative project will be created with Léuli Eshraghi (Samoa/Iran/Australia), Amrita Hepi (Australia/New Zealand), Thomas ES Kelly (Australia), Nicole Monks (Australia), Steven Rhall (Australia), Reina Sutton (Solomon Islands/New Zealand) and Jaimie Waititi (New Zealand).  

Lukautim Solwara translates from Tok Pisin (Pidgin English) and Solomon Islands Pijin as “to look out for, care for, or look after, the ocean’ alluding to the artists” shared connection to land and sea, climate change and living Maori, Pasifika and Aboriginal cultures and knowledge.

The project will be developed over 11 days through Raymond’s unique intensive development process which uses the intensity and cultural foundation of the wānanga (a place to meet, deliberate, consider, learn) together with open space methodology. The artists will activate local Pacific and Aboriginal museum collections, explore the body as a tool for decolonisation and ground the process in the Samoan concept of va, an understanding of space as “active”—not as empty and passive, but activated by people, relationships and reciprocal obligations.

The artists, who work across sculpture, adornment, painting, architecture, poetry, choreography and performance, will share their mana (power and honour) to articulate, activate and fabricate a one-night-only event that will take over the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art in the context of the Sovereignty exhibition curated by Paola Balla and Max Delany.

This project is curated and produced by Next Wave Director and CEO Georgie Meagher, Creative Producer Erica McCalman and Associate Producer Hannah Donnelly with Léuli Eshraghi.

Over the past 20 years, Rosanna Raymond’s activities have made her a notable producer of and commentator on contemporary Pacific Island culture, in Aotearoa New Zealand, the UK, and the USA. She specialises in working within museums and higher education institutions as an artist, performer, curator, guest speaker, poet and workshop leader. Raymond is an Honorary Research Associate at the Department of Anthropology and Institute of Archaeology at University College London.

Established in 1984, Next Wave is the most comprehensive platform in Australia for a new generation of artists taking creative risks. Next Wave produces unparalleled learning programs and a biennial festival which reflect a commitment to social and cultural diversity, environmental sustainability and inclusion.

Cultural engagement is key to expressing who we are, where we’ve come from, and how we connect with each other across the Asia Pacific region. It is a celebration of what is unique about contemporary Australian identity. Asia-Pacific Triennial of Performing Arts is an artistic celebration of our connection to contemporary Asia. Totally original and unpredictable, Asia TOPA is a city-wide cultural playground for the curious, the adventurous and the willing.

Lukautim Solwara is commissioned by Next Wave and Arts Centre Melbourne with support from the Sidney Myer Fund and Creative Victoria. The project has been generously assisted by Creative New Zealand, City of Melbourne, Arts House and the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art.

Lukautim Solwara (Look out for the ocean)
Friday, February 17, 2017, 8pm
Tickets available at nextwave.org.au or asiatopa.com.au

Media contact
Magda Petkoff, Purple Media, magda [​at​] purplemedia.com.au / T (+61) 409 436 473