OUR STORY/NAMING of TAHI 

February, 2024

Tēnā koutou e te rangatira ma.

He mihi nunui ki a koutou o te mana whenua ki Whanganui-a-Tara,  Te Āti Awa, Taranaki Whanaui me Ngāti Toa Rangatira. 

As tangata tiriti, the TAHI Festival acknowledges the tangata whenua the indigenous people of Aotearoa - New Zealand.

Taking place biennially in Te Whanganui-a-Tāra, Aotearoa, Wellington New Zealand, TAHI - New Zealand Festival of Solo Performance showcases Aotearoa's most innovative solo performance. Our festival gathers soloists from around the nation, and beyond – from established to emerging practitioners – to present work, collaborate and make connections across the industry. 

We embody tikanga shaped by our relationship as tangata tiriti that include a commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Te Reo Māori, Environmental Sustainability, Accessibility and Hauora/Wellbeing.

The full name is “TAHI New Zealand Festival of Solo Performance”. This helps people to understand what we are and what we do.

Te reo Māori used in the name of our Festival is meaningful and important, to us and to tangata whenua. The kōrero continues to strengthen our relationships and knowledge of Te Ao Māori.

In te reo Māori, TAHI has a number of meanings which we have sought to encompass in the naming of the festival and our practice. Tahi means One which symbolises the festival’s kaupapa of presenting one-person shows. TAHI also speaks to the wholeness and oneness of this sort of story-telling - the unique power of one person on stage.

To clear away, set aside and to sweep is another meaning. 

Our Festival Director Dr Sally Richards comments: 

“I see the stage manager, broom in hand, sweep before and after a performance. It reminds me that the solo performer is a misnomer - that solo performance relies on successful collaboration with others.”

Our tohu for TAHI is a brilliant, bold, emerald kākāriki/green. This green highlights our commitment to kaitiakitanga, finding ways to work towards environmental sustainability and using our festival as a platform to advocate for better practices. 

The letters are rounded, like a koru, symbolising growth and the nurturing of kakano (seeds) to fruition.

The A and H connect, a ‘hā’ of breath and an acknowledgement of kotahitanga - dispelling the misnomer of performer alone. 

Dr Richards shares the back-story: 

“As part of my doctoral research in 2011, I discovered international festivals dedicated to solo performance. The idea to create a solo theatre festival in Aotearoa has been with me since. What a brilliant idea to bring all of these story-tellers together for audiences to experience, what a melting pot and platform for marginalised voices. I also discovered the strong whakapapa of solo performance in Aotearoa. There is a long history of indigenous story-telling prowess and the voices of new migrants sharing their acculturation. Solo theatre performances were now a mainstay of venue and festival programming, a powerful and economic way of narrating our current times.  Where was Aotearoa's own festival of solo performance? 
My first reference to a name for the festival was in a pitch to Circa Theatre in 2016, as ‘The Festival of New Zealand Solo Performance; Te taurima whare tapere takitahi’. As a tauiwi, arriving in 1999 from Australia and beyond, my understanding was that the biculturalism of Aotearoa is acknowledged and championed, and the normalising of te reo was critical in this. The translation ‘Te taurima whare tapere takitahi’ was informally consulted on at Te Herenga Waka and their feedback  was that it was clunky and too literal. In 2018 I started to use TAHI New Zealand Festival of Solo Performance, and in 2019 it became the name of our inaugural festival and our registered company. I was inspired by other solo festivals using variations on the number ‘one’ - to let people know that the performances were solo and also as an indicator of origin. ‘TAHI’ tells the wider world that Aotearoa/New Zealand is bi-cultural. Rather than calling ourselves ‘ONE’, I wanted to acknowledge the unique culture and with a te reo Māori name, and an English language reference, I hope it sends a message that as an organisation we have a willingness to serve the whole community. 
Much has changed since I first conceived of the TAHI Festival. Younger New Zealanders are increasingly embracing, and actively using, te reo Māori. In the Arts we are now actively decolonising creative spaces. Voices are louder. Some of us are getting a little better at listening. 

In 2018, I was grateful to receive feedback from arts colleagues about the te reo Māori name of the festival.  This feedback has been a vital catalyst for myself and the festival to look closer at our commitment to upholding the principles and promises under Te Tiriti o Waitangi, our support for and partnership with Māori arts practitioners, and our role as tangata tiriti. It began an important journey.”

In 2023/24 we responded to kōrero and further feedback on how ‘TAHI’ sits with Māori and our arts whānau. We have been encouraged by honest conversations and positive engagement. 

We understand the privilege and responsibility of having a Māori name.  Our name is important, but we have also realised that it is only one part of a bigger picture. Our journey with Mātauranga Māori began with considering our values and tikanga for the Festival.  We have been slowly and carefully improving our capabilities in our cultural practice, kaupapa and relationships. 

In 2021 we began working with Khali Meari Materoa on our tikanga, with kōrero and wānanga with the Festival team and artists, and holding the opening of our Festivals. 

In 2023 we partnered with Taki Rua Productions implementing  a dedicated commissioning of Māori and Pasifika writers for  “ONO” which was presented at Circa Theatre in Pōneke and Te Pou Theatre in Tāmaki Makaurau. 

We value the contribution of Māori creatives to TAHI Festival, it strengthens much of what we do. Over the five years of the festival we have had 50+ Māori and Pasifika practitioners engage with the Festival as creatives, designers, technicians and dramaturgs. The work enriches our understanding of te ao māori, our programming, our relationships, and our creative and management processes. 

We value the part we may play in developing and strengthening Māori and Pasifika practitioners. 

The road ahead

Our organisation has chosen to retain the name TAHI as part of its full title. The kupu has strengthened along with the deepening of relationships, honest conversations and the commitment to all aspects of engaging with Māori. The tohu is important to our journey.

TAHI has four strategic pou (pillars) that capture our intentions for how we will develop in the area of working with Māori, and all; commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Environmental Sustainability, Accessibility and Hauora/Wellbeing. Our kaupapa includes a commitment to continuing our mahi: 

• Deeper consideration, tangible action and advocacy of the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi: reciprocity, active protection, partnership, equity, and equal treatment.

• Clear messaging and acknowledgement of our advocacy and commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

• Increasing the number of Māori Trustees on our board.

• Ongoing mahi with a cultural advisor.

• Te Reo Māori policy and Te Reo Māori Strategy.

• Commitment to having a Māori practitioner at a leadership level - acknowledging that we are currently a pākeha/tauiwi led organisation.

• Stronger connection to local tangata whenua.

• Toi Māori and Tautai Pasifika interns to work with our production team.

• Acknowledgement of systemic racism. 

• Anti-racism statement.

• Developing an Intercultural Policy.

We continue to be challenged, guided and enriched by engaging with te ao Māori. We welcome future kōrero. 

I would like to acknowledge the following people who have had kōrero with TAHI and provided advice and feedback on our journey: Nicola Hyland (Te Atihaunui-a-Pāpārangi and Ngāti Hauiti.), Tuhoe, Ngati Kahungunu - Maraea Rakuraku, Dolina Wehipeihana (Ngati Tukorehe, Ngāti Raukawa), Grace Hoete (Ngāti Kuri, Te Aupouri, Te Rarawa, Ngā Puhi, Te Arawa waka, Tuwharetoa, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Raukawa), Moria Fortin Cornejo, Tānemahutua Gray (Ngāi Tahu, Rangitāne, Tainui, Scottish, English), and the TAHI Trust Board. 

Ngā mihi. 

Sally Richards 

Festival Director and Producer