Mangere Arts Center

The Mangere Arts Centre has opened very recently on the 3^rd of September. It is dedicated to visual and performing arts, and provides several galleries where local artists can expose their work, as well as a theatre.

The visit 

The delegation is welcomed by Naomi Singer, the Centre Manager, Eleanor Ikinofo, Communications Officer for Pacific Islands Trade & Invest, who kindly organised the visit, and Czarina Wilson, a young artist of Tongan origin. The visit starts with a tour of the facilities (including the theatre and its backstage) given by Katrina Chandra, Performing Arts Manager, and a visit of an exhibition by students, graduates and tutors from the Manukau School of Visual Arts (MSVA), where the team is invited to take posters home. Czarina then explains her own success story and shows the team her own winning entry to a competition: a handbag with a Tongan story!

Main points of discussion/learning 

• Expressing the Tongan value through the product => adding value
• Importance of word of mouth
• Social media: massive and measurable