Huia O’Sullivan

A powerful wahine who shares her vision to build resilience through creativity amongst the most vulnerable in our communities.

Can you introduce yourself?

Ko Te Āti Awa ahau. Ko Huia O’Sullivan toku ingoa. I’m the executive director for Ngā Rangatahi Toa.

What role does creativity play in your life?  

Creativity enables me to process thoughts and feelings, people and places. My livelihood and well-being is being able to express the essence of who I am as a person.

How do you express yourself?

I express myself through being able to parse what I observe through language, movement and feeling. So for me, it’s whole absorption of being able to move in the world authentically through expression of creativity.

I met you as Director of Engagement with Ngā Rangatahi Toa in 2016. You became the Executive Director in 2018. What is the difference between what you used to do and what you do now?

The biggest difference is funding and hustling. I have a higher strategic level of looking at where we need to be and having more critical conversations with people in power that can shift the trajectory of inequality within Aotearoa.

What is the kaupapa of Ngā Rangatahi Toa?

Our philosophy or kaupapa is to create resilience through creativity. Essentially creative youth development – providing a safe space for young people to explore, be curious and engage and allow opportunity that they would never have had before.

So really providing those ones that are really vulnerable with access to the arts and creativity through opportunities.

Why do rangatahi need organization like Ngā Rangatahi Toa?

We are one-of-a-kind within Aotearoa. (There might be people doing things close to us). What sets us apart is we have creative youth development wrapped around support systems and we also offer a lot of internships in business. We provide support to get people into higher education or employment opportunities. The reason we need to do this is because there is a gap in the system, and so we saw the need to bridge that gap for our young people.

You work with rangatahi from South Auckland. What impact does it have on them when they become part of the Ngā Rangatahi Toa family?

They shift their trajectory and outlook on life. We act as nonjudgemental mirror for them so then it becomes in context of finding a safe, stable whanau outside their own whanau that they can lean into when they need to.

I know one of your projects is Manawa Ora, which is usually a sold-out performance. During this project, young rangatahi are paired with art mentors and work on a project that will be presented during this performance. Why is this performance so important for rangatahi?

We have actually moved away from this one-to-one model. The reason we shifted away is to be able to engage and work with more rangatahi that are in much need of creativity. One-to-one wasn’t sustainable nor progressive to how we are and how we see NRT moving forward. Manawa Ora is an important part of that studio year worth of learning, scaffolding, relationship building and vulnerability that goes into those two weeks. That’s what sets Manawa Ora apart. It’s the on top of of the cake. For the majority of our babies that would never get up in front of an audience let alone paying audience – it’s their their time to shine and stand in their light alongside of their peers and understand what it actually feels

like to be your creative authentic self.

I always felt like once you connected with NRT, you always remained a family. What was the process to get to such a place of trust?

Coming in with an open heart, being vulnerable, standing in the strength of your craft and craft and caring deeply for the relationships.

Do you recall your proudest moments during your time at NRT?

This would have been couple years back, when we had the opening night of Manawa Ora. We got all our sponsors and funders there in the audience. We had tech difficulties, which meant no sound or lighting. Our rangatahi just put on the UE boom and continued with the show. In the face of adversity, with a packed audience of 200 people, they didn’t take a hit. They bounced back and continued on.

And that’s what we hope for them in their lives – that they can just move, adapt, and are fluid.

Can you describe some creative activities you do with rangatahi?

We just come off our first busy quarter where we have done game development, screen printing, virtual realities, circus, mau rākau, waiata haka, street graffiti, theatre and dance.

So that’s some of the activities we do now.

How do you ensure that rangatahi feel a deeper connection to their roots and feel proud at who they are?

We enable them to understand places and people of significance to their ethnicity, regardless or where they are from. With the starting point of Te Ao Māori – the world of Māori. It’s woven into everything we do from the time they

wake up in the morning with us to the time they go to sleep.

In coming into our programme there is an understanding of and acceptance to Kawa and Tikanga Māori. That’s the starting point of exploration and deeper

understanding to their own culture and their own relationship with tangata whenua, (if they are not Māori). It allows us deeper connection – because a lot of our young people are disconnected – and we take a soft approach through activities.

We use philosophies like manaakitanga – caring for each other, being hospitable, kotahitanga – working together as one so that they experience really deep connection to to who they are, and they can be proud of that.

If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?

Shifting people to abundance mindset. For me this is about getting people out of poverty and having them progress towards something. We all should be sitting in a better place and be able to thrive.

Who is the most important woman in your life and how did she influence you in your journey as an artist or as a woman?

I have many women in my life that surround, nourish and strongly influence my heartwork, which is the work I’m in now. These women care for me when things are going really bad and for me, this is something only women can do. We understand the struggles. We understand how much harder it is to be a woman and in positions of power when we’re up against male colleagues. We must help each other to stay in this place, strong and confident and within our light.