FAFSWAG Arts Collective marks 10-year anniversary: 'Our story on our terms'

FAFSWAG Arts Collective is celebrating a decade of creative excellence with their exhibition ALTERATION ​opening this weekend at Māngere Arts Center.

World renowned for their empowering collaborations, FAFSWAG are pioneers of social change through art and innovation - often activating digital and public spaces.

ALTERATION is a site specific work developed for DOCUMENTA15 in Kassel Germany, featuring a myriad of genres from live performance to digital arts and installation.

Bringing the works back home to South Auckland is a powerful homecoming for the collective who have a strong international following and are beloved locally.

"Our queer community of Moana Oceania are the blue print and have been here forever," says FAFSWAG member and arts leader Elyssia ​Wilson Heti. ​

"It’s always a deep privilege getting to create for us and for them."

The collective has exhibited and performed around the world including at the Centre Pompidou in Paris France, Moku Pacific HQ in London, Emergency Gallery in Vevey Switzerland, at the Rotterdam International Film Festival, ImagineNATIVE Toronto Canada, Asinabka Indigenous arts Festival in Ontario Canada, and MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

FAFSWAG were the artists in residence for Manchester International Festival (MIF) 2023 presented by Factory International and Aviva Studio’s and the group have been commissioned by MIF25 in 2025. The collective's artists currently have works in the Netherlands at Into Nature Biennale 2023 and at Storage Gallery in Bangkok Thailand.​

FAFSWAG will tour ALTERATION to Toronto in October at Trinity Square Video and the show will be restaged in Melbourne at Substation as part of Mardi Gras 2024.

The queer arts collective hope the Pacific community will come and see their exhibition and celebrate their ten years of practice and connection saying the show is also a thank you to everyone who has helped them on their journey.

"Ten years of collective dreaming and manifesting ourselves into existence​," says Wilson Heti. ​​

"Our dreams manifested into this show of deep aroha and alofa for our community."

FAFSWAG Arts Collective

Pati Solomona Tyrell - He/Him (Samoa/Tokelau) Photography, Moving Image, Performance. | Tim Swann - He/Him (Samoa) Queer Activism, Finance, Community Engagement. | Moe Laga - She/Her/They/Them (Samoa) Performance, Screen arts, Activation, Ballroom, Trans Activism. | Nahora Ioane - She/Her (Rarotonga/Cook Islands Maori) Performing Arts, Trans Activism. | James Waititi - They/Them (Māori NZ) Production, Interdisciplinary, Moving Image, Performance, Textiles, Digital arts. | Falencie Filipo - She/Her (Samoa) Performance, Activation, Ballroom, Trans Activism. | Elyssia Wilson Heti - She/Her (Niue) Production, Curation, Performing Arts. | Tapuaki Helu - He/Him (Tonga) Design, Performance, Visual Arts. | Tanu Gago - He/Him (Samoa) Film, Moving Image, AR Technologies, Queer Activist.

ALTERATION​ | FAFSWAG​​ Ten-Year Anniversary Exhibition Opening

Venue: Māngere Arts Center​

Address: Corner Bader Drive and, Orly Avenue, Māngere, Auckland 2022

Date: Saturday, 9 September 2023

Time: 1pm - 4pm