Welcome to Te Ora Auaha

Over the past few weeks during an unprecedented global pandemic the arts have made a profound contribution to our wellbeing.  In our homes, garden sheds, workplaces and neighbourhoods, they have helped us to laugh, cry, make sense of our experience, cope with isolation and anxiety, and mobilise vital community support networks. A good deal... Keep Reading

Māpura Studios is a creative space, offering visual arts, art therapy, music, movement, poetry, dance therapy, performance art and cartooning programmes for people living with disabilities, impairment, or other social and personal need. We provide a professional... Keep Reading

Home Ground is a multi-disciplinary community arts initiative, for women in the Justice system. In the first half of this year, the Home Ground collective was running workshops in Arohata Women’s Prison, and had just finished a two month community based project in... Keep Reading

Caluzzi Cabaret has been entertaining audiences for the past 24 years. The night consists of a three course dinner with hilarious Drag Queen entertainment intertwined between the courses to make for a fabulous and hilarious night out. When audience members leave... Keep Reading

The Crescendo Trust of Aotearoa (CTOA) work with young people aged 12-24 years from across Auckland through mentoring programmes in music, film and photography. The programmes connect young people directly with creative industry professionals who are trained to provide bespoke mentorship. CTOA... Keep Reading

Te Ora Auaha’s website has a hub for research and resources related to Arts, health and well-being. New material is being made available regularly. Here is a sample of some recent additions we think are particularly relevant at this time. Keep Reading

It is time to shine a light on the community sector’s collective contribution to community wellbeing, to take stock of what is needed, and to shape our future.  You are invited to fill out a nationwide survey on how COVID-19 has impacted the community and voluntary sector. Responses due 5:00 pm Friday, 12 June. Keep Reading

Contingencies for a global pandemic are rarely in the planning of an event; so, when Covid-19 caused a nationwide lockdown a great deal of flexible thinking was needed to reframe a three-day Youth Week event by Circus Arts Charity Circability. Luckily flexibility is in the very nature of... Keep Reading

Ōtautahi Creative Spaces wants a world where creativity is front and centre in mental health, and supports people with experience of mental distress to thrive through creativity. From Zoom calls to supplying a kete of art materials to artists, founder and director Kim Morton speaks to Creative New Zealand... Keep Reading

The Covid-19 pandemic has rippled out from Wuhan like a shock wave, but its impact has been uneven. Some countries have suffered many deaths; others, including New Zealand, relatively few. But the effort to contain the disease has touched everyone, and its economic, social and cultural consequences will be with us for years to come. There are... Keep Reading

A project to support primary school teachers with a rich, arts-based set of resources when they return to school next week has been developed by a team at the University of Auckland. Led by Professor Peter O’Connor in the Faculty of Education and Social Work, Te Rito Toi provides detailed lesson plans and classroom activities... Keep Reading