Ko hoku hingoa ko Kasi Petelo Lennox Kelepi Valu. 'Oku lele mai mei Ma'ufanga mo Lapaha.

As an actor, poet, writer, and producer for Le Moana under the leadership and vision of Tupe Lualua, my work currently centres on the experiences, wit, complexities, and universality of our Pacific peoples.

Fakalofa Lahi Atu, Kia mutolu oti.

Ko au nei ko Sophia Amore Siale Tuhelelifa Coghini. Ne faka higoa he tau matua tupuna fifine haaku mai Tahiti Niue. Mo amore he mai, he matua tupuna fifine mai, Italian Hungarian.

Fakaaue kehe Atua he langi.

As a multidisciplinary artist, Pasifika advocate and independent researcher, Aotearoa New Zealand, I create customary art pieces dedicated to Tivaevae, a custom passed down from the women in my family.

Leilani A Sio, alter ego DJ Panda, interdisciplinary artist born in Tamaki, raised on Motu Kairangi (Strathmore, Te Whanganui a Tara), descendent from the Sāmoan villages of Safune, Lano, Leauva'a, and Lotofaga (Matatufu).

Leilani says, “I am an avid user of Wikipedia, and most of my reading has been through music and film deep dives over the years so it's nice to experience Wikipedia from this perspective as a contributor.

Talofa lava o lo’u ‘igoa o Hibiscus Tupua-Wilson. I am Samoan, from the villages of Satupaitea and

Palauli, Savai’i; and Vaimoso and Afega, ‘Upolu.

Recent graduate from Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington, one of the girls of

Wellington ballroom, and an actor. I’ve grown and experienced a lot.

To acknowledge that I am a proud storyteller, navigator and creative.Telling stories is what I grew up

with, navigating different journey’s is what I know, and to create pieces that weave and define the

implications of one’s journey of culture, life and experiences is what I love most.

Ko hoku hingoa ko Brayden Cresswell. ‘Oku ou lelei mai mei Ha’ano, Muitoa Ha’apai, Kolomotua, Ha’asini. ‘Oku polepole ‘aki hoku Tonga. I am 18 and currently studying for a Bachelor of Performing Arts in Acting at Te Kura Toi Whakaari o Aotearoa. In the past I have worked under Tupe Lualua as Le Moana for various projects around Pōneke. I also had the pleasure of creating my first solo show in collaboration with Sarita So, Anya Tate-Manning, Sean Riviera, and Peter Burman.

My work currently involves satire and clown more directly power and holding it accountable. As a writer, artist and collaborator I thrive in spaces where I can weave together a team’s dreams, thoughts, and ideas. I move forward, and acknowledge the past. This opportunity encourages people like me to further look into who, how, and what has come since, and inform a younger generation that may not have known these stories and experiences until now. This work has the power to invigorate and engage a new era of storytellers, and create a new avenue in our artistry.

Talofa lava le mamalu o le aofia o lou igoa o Luz-Eliana Folau-Brown. O ou aiga i Samoa o Vaimoso ma Leauva’a. On my Niuean side my village is Hakupu.

I have a love of writing this led me to find people and stories closer to home like Sir Albert Wendt. As I became more conscious of the world around me and my strangely predetermined place in it, I sought out poetry by women that look like me and have a similar place in the world as me.

The work of women like Tusiata Avia, Coco Solid and Selina Tusitala Marsh have had a profound effect on me and where I continue to write from. In saying this, the work of cataloguing the careers of Pacific artists is incredibly significant work for the accessibility and acknowledgment of the volumes of Pacific artists that have contributed and continue to contribute to the deep and rich gafa of Pacific art. My passion runs deep for this opportunity since I would have greatly benefitted from having the same accessibility to Pacific artists as I did with White artists on Wikipedia growing up. I want that for the future generations of Pacific artists so they know it’s a viable career option, so they can read about artists that feel close to home, so they don’t feel so alone if they have grand or strange artistic ideas they want to make a reality. As decolonisation comes more and more into the forefront of our zeitgeist I firmly believe we must take action to actively give our artists and storytellers, past and present, the acknowledgement and permanence they deserve on the immortal internet that gives a platform to all their other contemporaries and this is opportunity is action being taken.