Niue extends artist residency to 2028, boosting opportunities for Pasifika creatives

Niue’s artist residency programme has been locked in until 2028.

The move is set to grow local talent and strengthen Pacific creative connections.

A new three-year partnership between the Government of Niue and Creative New Zealand (CNZ) will expand the Niue Artist Residency in Alofi, building on earlier success and opening the door for more Pacific artists.

It also marks the first Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two, signalling a long-term commitment to supporting Niuean arts both on the island and across the diaspora.

“Creative New Zealand has had many decades of supporting the arts of the Niue people,” Ali Foa’i, CNZ’s Principal Adviser Pacific Arts, tells PMN Niue.

The partnership builds on a successful 2025 pilot led by award-winning visual artist Katrina Iosia, whose work with local students helped shape the programme.

Iosia shared in a social media post her excitement, recommending “all our Pasifika artists” look into the “amazing opportunity”.

Foa’i says the residency offers more than just time to make connections permanent. “It’s an opportunity where Pacific artists can spend six weeks on our beautiful island making new works, collaborating with local artists, running workshops.”

The deal also follows February's Hologa Niue Cultural Festival in Tāmaki Makaurau, which helped bring the partnership to life.

The village of Liku Tamahaleleka performing at inaugral Hologa festival in 2025. Photo/PMN Digital/Eroti Navuku

Niue’s Minister of Social Services, Sonya Talagi, led the development of the agreement with CNZ’s Pacific Arts Group.

“We are excited about our multi-year MoU with Creative New Zealand to ensure mutual arts, cultural goals, and mutual benefits between Niue and New Zealand,” Talagi said in a statement.

“The partnership includes ongoing dialogue to explore future opportunities in the creative space, which will be wonderful for our children, young people, and future generations.”

It aligns with the ‘Moana’ focus of the Pacific Arts Strategy, aimed at strengthening creative links in Aotearoa and across the world.

For Niue, a realm country with deep historical connections to Aotearoa, the deal is also about sharing traditional knowledge and new skills.

In a statement, Jannita Pilisi of CNZ’s governing Arts Council, says the residency will support skills development and “sharing innovative ideas and technologies” to help build long-term resilience.

“The more we can invest and support people to people connections, the more our creative and cultural communities can thrive,” Pilisi said.

Foa’i says the focus is on connection: it’s about “bridging the gap between Niue and Aotearoa”.

“This could look like cultural exchange programs which we’ve run in the past,” he says. “Getting knowledge holders over here [to Aotearoa], bringing people over to Niue. It’s about opening up the door for more exchange.”

The residency joins other Pacific programmes in the region including the Fulbright Writer’s Residency at the University of Hawai’i and a dance residency in Sāmoa.

Foa’i’s message to Niuean artists is clear: “Keep writing, keep dreaming, keep making your art, keep weaving, keep talking to our elders, keep learning and using our Vagahau Niue.

“This opportunity is just one step further in making sure that our beautiful culture of Niue can thrive.”

The next residency recipient will be announced soon, with the programme set to run from 14 April to 22 May 2026.