WOMEN OF THE ISLANDS - LUSI FAIVA
LUSI FAIVA
Performer & Creator
Samoan
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Lusi please tell us about yourself? Where you grew up, Pasifika Heritage etc
Mālō, I’m a performer and creator with Cerebral Palsy and I have some great different communication abilities. I have Pasifka and European heritage. I grew up in Levin and in Lower Hutt, Wellington. My family came from Patamea. They arrived in Aotearoa back in mid sixties. My mum’s father was a traditional chef at his village. As the years passed I moved up to Auckland with my mum and my siblings.
What was your journey into the arts like?
I suppose I was fortunate enough to be part of the theatre groups that I was involved in when I was in my teens. But it was not until I attended the first workshop audition at Unitec in 96 where Catherine Chappell was facilitating the workshop that Touch Compass was starting up as the first mixed ability dance company in New Zealand. I started working with Touch Compass in 97 - this became the highest level of my career as a dancer and an actor.
As a uniquely abled person, what were some of the hardest challenges for you to overcome in your career?
As a professional disabled artist performer and practitioner I have found the hardest part to overcome challenges, especially as I’m constantly comparing myself with other able bodied artists and people that are working behind the scenes. They just can see the chair, they don’t see me at all. So I would like to do more to maintain the integrity of providing training and other performing courses for disabled people to achieve their own careers in the arts.
Tell us about AIGA, Touch compass? What is it about?
A journey of identity, desire, family, and what it means to be disabled and Pasifika.
An Aotearoa story with universal resonance. An honest and heartfelt work that moves you, expands your empathy and consciousness and invites you to explore new perspectives of being. With a powerhouse creative team, this work features storytelling at its core; a story that will make you laugh, cry, think and feel – one that needs to be heard.
What was your inspiration behind AIGA Touch Compass?
This was an idea that came from a friend of mine who suggested that I should create a theme around storytelling and around family or community, sharing experiences with people in our lives. I thought it would be interesting if we could have a creative strong ensemble and brave women, non binary, disabled, Pacific and Māori identities. Aiga brings the reality that we are all in indigenous communities with our ancestors who are part of us. There was a lot of brainstorming to make the process possible and we got on with each other well. It helped us to trust and respect each other’s cultures.
What is something you want your audience to take from this production?
I think it would be a lot of pride and praise from them.
How important is it for you to diversify the arts, in terms of making them more accessible and enhancing disability visibility?
It's important making accessibility be more alive and easier for disabled audiences to experience and interact with the cast members on stage. The audio describing and the sign language are vital to have.
What is some advice you could give to a young brown artist with disabilities trying to make it in the industry?
Follow your own dreams and grab the best opportunities you can. Make your creativity as your own version and share your aspirations to make them happen and make your voice heard as loud as possible.
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Aiga (Sāmoan for family/whānau) is a groundbreaking and emotional Disability-led, Pasifika-led work of theatre told through the lens of the real-life journey of Pacific Toa award-winning, founding member Lusi Faiva.
A collective creative ensemble of women, non-binary, disabled, non-disabled, Pasifika and Māori identities brings this quest for identity and belonging to life, artfully sharing their own experiences with and through Lusi’s.