Leafa Wilson
Project Lead for Auahatanga ki te Kāinga
Meet Leafa Wilson, our project lead for Auahatanga ki te Kāinga.
Leafa (who also goes by the names Janice and Olga) was curator of art at Waikato Museum Te Whare Taonga o Waikato for 17 years. She has previously worked with Creative Waikato as our South Waikato Cultural Activator, in another pilot programme that saw her whipping up art hurricanes in Tīrau, Putāruru, and Tokoroa.
Leafa also lead Whiria te Tāngata, a multi-community artist in residence pilot. This project enabled artists to practice and develop work with and through their communities.
Leafa is now pulling on all her experience to lead Auahatanga ki te Kāinga – a community-driven initiative led by Creative Waikato, in partnership with Community Waikato, that works to provide communities living in Glenview, Melville, Fairfield and Enderley areas, including whānau in Kāinga Ora social housing, with inspiring creative experiences.
Her multimedia performance art practice spans over 30 years and a Master of Philosophy enables her to enter manifold people-spaces and worldviews.