This November, acclaimed Moana artist Rosanna Raymond MNZM will spend four weeks in Sāmoa, listening. At dawn, at noon and at dusk, she'll record the sounds and shadows of the islands. That material will become part of a 2027 ceremony that carries the spirit of her archive out of Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki and through the streets of Tāmaki Makaurau.
The residency runs from 2 to 29 November 2026 at Tiapapata Art Centre in Apia. It's led by Pacific Dance New Zealand and supported by Creative New Zealand.
For thirty years, Rosanna's body has been the meeting place of her art and her heritage. Movement, sound, adornment, spoken word and ceremony come together in what she calls the Vā Body. The residency takes its name from the ata: the shadow, the image, and the artwork itself.
"This residency will allow me to take time to get out of my head and back into my body. For thirty years my body has been the place where my art and my heritage meet. But so much of that work has been made far from Sāmoa, yet grounded in Sāmoan arts and culture. Now I get to stand in the places that helped shape me — to listen at dawn, at noon and at dusk, to walk the land of my family histories, and chase my shadows. I am interested in the Moana Nui term ata — as more than a shadow. It's the image, the artwork, and the way I bind myself to all of it. I'm coming home to capture forms of ata, and to share what I find with the people here." — Rosanna Raymond
During the residency, Rosanna will travel to Savai'i to return to Sasina, where a photograph of her was taken that later became an artwork, a poem and a dance. She'll also visit Falealupo, home of the warrior goddess Nafanua, and reconnect with family.
Acti.VĀ.tion – Tulua Pō ma Ao – Standing Between Night and Day. Photograph: Salvador Brown, 2025
This is the third year our residency has brought a diaspora artist home to Sāmoa, following choreographers Villa Lemanu in 2024 and Aloali'i Tapu in 2025. For Pacific artists raised in Aotearoa, time in Sāmoa is about the vā: the space that binds people to each other, to land and to ancestors. It's a chance to explore, develop and test new work at its source.
"We're excited to have Rosanna as Artist in Residence (Sāmoa). This will give her time to research and develop her practice on island as well as to reconnect with her Sāmoan culture." — Iosefa Enari MNZM, Director, Pacific Dance New Zealand
Founded by Wendy and Galumalemana Steven Percival, Tiapapata Art Centre has been a place of learning in the hills above Apia since 1989. Its residency programme welcomes practitioners across disciplines to work alongside local artists, heritage practitioners and communities.
"We see our residencies as opportunities for everyone involved to learn from one another. Rosanna's exploration of the body, memory and ancestral connections resonates with our work to keep cultural knowledge alive through practice. We are delighted to welcome her and look forward to the ideas and experiences we will share. We hope her workshops will also encourage participants to discover new ways of understanding and expressing their own stories." — Galumalemana Steven Percival, co-founder and Managing Trustee, Tiapapata Art Centre
Acti.VĀ.tion: SaVĀge K'lub ManuAO. Photograph: David James, 2023
If you're in Sāmoa this November, come and make work with Rosanna at Tiapapata:
Dates will be shared on our Facebook and Instagram. To register your interest, email marketing@pacificdance.org.nz.
The residency feeds the final installation of Rosanna's PhD at Auckland University of Technology (AUT). In November 2027 it will culminate in an acti.VĀ.tion: a ceremony, procession and celebration settling the mauli (life force) of her Eyeland Archive from Auckland Art Gallery to St Paul St Gallery. We'll be sharing the journey all the way there.
We'll post from Sāmoa every week: sounds, shadows and footwork in progress. Follow Pacific Dance New Zealand on Instagram and Facebook, and look for #FafauinaMaLouAta.
Rosanna Raymond MNZM. Photograph: Salvador Brown, 2025
The Pacific Dance New Zealand Artist in Residence, Sāmoa, is hosted with Tiapapata Art Centre and supported by Creative New Zealand.
About Rosanna Raymond MNZM. Rosanna is an artist, performer, poet and maker of Sāmoan, Tuvaluan, Irish and French descent, born in Auckland. Her practice spans movement, sound, body adornment and spoken word, centred on what she calls the Vā Body. She was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2023 for services to Pacific art, and is in the second year of a PhD at AUT exploring the afterlife of archives through a body-centred practice.
Media enquiries: Joanna Bourke · +64 21 356 515 · marketing@pacificdance.org.nz
