Hinekaa Mako is off to Canada for an Indigenous Storytellers Spoken Word Residency - Photo / Supplied
Māori scriptwriter and poet, Hinekaa Mako, is set to participate in the Indigenous Storytellers Spoken Word Residency at Canada's Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.
Based in Wellington, Mako (Taranaki Whānui, Whanganui Nui tonu), is off to the Rocky Mountains in Canada this month, to exchange skills and knowledge with other First Nation artists.
The opportunity for Mako to attend Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity is due to a joint initiative the centre has with Creative New Zealand.
The Banff Centre is renowned for commissioning, supporting and producing new creative works.
The Indigenous Storytellers Spoken Word Residency invites participants to push the parameters of traditional storytelling, and immerse themselves in writing practices that are in-depth and involve visual, research and meditative exploration, and also to learn from local elders and faculty members.
Mako says, ""For my residency project, I will focus on how to elevate global concerns for our changing climate by sharing stories within the Māori language and cultural mythology matrix. I plan to craft a contemporary Māori language narrative poem within the framework of Karanga, the classical ceremonial oratory performed exclusively by Māori women."
Mako also works with the Climate Change - Iwi Leaders Group.
She has spoken on climate change nationally and internationally, most recently as part of the New Zealand Delegation to COP24 - United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Katowice, Poland in 2018.
"I've been waiting for the right time, and the place to begin a new phase of sharing stories, and start pushing the parameters of my tradition of storytelling into the light of a new day. It is exciting and an honour to be part of this residency at Banff with a collective of indigenous storytellers," Mako says.
The residency runs from March 3-24 2019.