PX Whanau Radio

Queer Pasifika Rights: Recording of a Talanoa of Diaspora organisations from Aotearoa/NZ and America/Turtle Island, during the 3rd Pacific Human Rights Conference held in Fiji in April 2024. They Talanoa about how to develop tools in community and sharing to the regions of the Pacific.

Join Marqy today with our incredible guests from Palau, Micronesia! PX Whanau is dedicated to sharing the powerful stories of Queer Pasifika lived experiences. As we journey across the Pacific, we aim to highlight and celebrate these diverse Pacific Nations.Special mentions to Yaya and Elilai from All Things Fierce for having a chat with PX Whanau

Kikki got to host TDOA (Transgender Day of Audibility) with special guests.

Sonja korero's with Teherenui Koteka, a proud Rarotongan native and graduate of Te Herenga Waka, Victoria University of Wellington. With a Bachelor's in Theatre, Film, and Media Studies and a Masters of Creative Writing under her belt, Teherenui is a force to be reckoned with in the world of arts and culture!In 2023, she was the recipient of the BATS Creative New Zealand Pacific Producer Residency, showcasing her remarkable talent and dedication to her craft. As a multidisciplinary artist, Teherenui draws inspiration from the rich storytelling traditions of her tupuna (ancestors), using her creative prowess to reflect the diverse and vibrant experiences of modern Pacific life. A Kuki Airani perspective on sex and sexuality and safety their play 'Pane Provocations' debuted in Te Whanganui a Tara from 6-9 March and then went on to Rarotonga at the first ever Pride week ( Anuanua) for the community in April 2024.

We are thrilled to share that our very own Tony K Fretton (Founder of PacifiqueX) has been appointed as an official Taskforce member for the Victorian LGBTQIA+ Taskforce! Being part of this incredible initiative is a well-deserved achievement for Tony, and we're deeply honoured to have him represent our Pasifika Queer community at the table where important decisions are made.This journey has been a testament to the power of community, resilience, and the legacy of our elders. Tony couldn't have done it without your support, PacifiqueX fam! Have a listen to Marqy and Tony having a Talanoa on representation of our queer Pasifika community in Naarm.

Get ready to laugh like never before with Shark Heist at Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2024! Don't miss out on the comedic brilliance of award-winning queer Māori performer Cam Venn as they korero with Marqy about their passions and influences. Known for pushing boundaries and creating inclusive yet boundary-pushing theatre in Naarm, Cam Venn is back with a show that will leave you in stitches! Dive into a world of laughter, drag, dance, giant puppets, and action-adventure.

PX Whanau and PacifiqueX proudly celebrate our sissy Miss Katalyna for her monumental achievement and representation on a huge platform for Queer POC and Trans Women of Color! Miss Katalyna, of Samoan and Tongan descent based in Naarm/Melbourne, is a dynamic and passionate DJ on a mission to take her audience on a unique musical journey.Our Kikki Temple has a talanoa with Miss Katalyna on her diverse repertoire that spans from her own Mixes, Chicago house, Gospel house, House disco, drum & bass, R&B, and the trending Amapiano genre, Miss Katalyna brings a fresh and eclectic vibe to the world of music.She is also the current TV host for The Bent Spoon and co-founder of Trans Pride March Melbourne and the Trans Pride Concert. Prepare for an adult playground spanning six distinct venues, each pulsating with its own unique vibe and line-up. This colossal event features 10 hours of non-stop entertainment, drawing in over 10,000 people and showcasing over 50 artists in a hypnotic fusion of house, techno, pop, electronica, nu-disco, club, and R’n’B. Don't miss out on the lineup including Adam Lambert, CeCe Peniston, Ultra Naté, Keiynan Lonsdale, Monki (UK), Moto Blanco (UK), Patrick Mason (GER), AK Sports (US), Jennifer Loveless (GER), Shigeki (JPN), Lisa May (VIC), Marsh Long (VIC), and of course, the fabulous Miss Katalyna, bringing her charisma and talent to the stage!

Marqy hosts today's show on Pride week and what it means in Naarm as diaspora and shares the voices of the queer Pasifika community on the streets of Fitzroy in February 2024.

FAFSWAG in Australia“Art for Pacific people is not just a practice,it’s a lived embodied vocation that allPacific people have” -Tanu Gago (Artist and Founding member of the FAFSWAGQueer Pasifika Art collective)“You don’t need a seat at the table, just build your own Fale” - (Elyssia Wilson-HetiArtist and Producer and member of FAFSWAG)The iconic queer Pasifika interdisciplinary art collective FAFSWAG has landed in Naarm withtheir groundbreaking exhibition Alteration.PX Whanau’s Sonja Hammer has a Talanoa/Korero with three members of the collective(Tanu Gago, Elyssia Wilson- Heti and Nahora Ioane) speaking on a myriad of topics fromtheir art, to personal experiences in the art world, to the politics of being Queer Pasifika FirstNations and an Artist,to the global effect their work is having, to being exhibited for the firsttime here in Naarm, what the future means for them and future collaborations beyondAotearoa which is their home base.“Self determination and the sovereignty of our narrative has been so important” -Elyssia Wilson-Heti“FAFSWAG is a place where artists can come and just figure things out”-Tanu GagoAbout the exhibition Alteration: ‘Meeting at the intersections of cultural archival practices,digital technology and queer Indigenous storytelling, Alteration presents a glimpse into theshapeshifting practice of the FAFSWAG arts collective. Compiled over ten years of artisticoutput, FAFSWAG presents a mixed media archival exhibition of significant works from thecollective between 2013 - 2023.Developed site specifically from 2020 - 2022 for the world's second largest contemporaryarts festival Documenta15 in Kassel Germany.ALTERATION the exhibition is the culmination of a decade of collective social practice, andtwo years of co-design, co-curation, research and production.Featuring work from a massive cross-section of the creative industries from independentpractitioners that continue to share networks, resources, skills and experience. From film tolive performing arts, cultural performance, digital arts and installation, the collective hasmaintained a fluid approach to the arts, often working with a community of practitioners tolead large scale interdisciplinary projects with innovative commercial collaborations. Thesebodies of work contemplate on lineage and legacy, reclaim stolen narratives, speculatefictional futures and redefine their own culture, rebelling against a now predictable and fixedcolonial context.’Artists include:Jermaine Dean, Falencie Filipo, Tanu Gago, Tapuaki Helu, Elyssia Wilson Heti,Nahora loane, Hohua Ropate Kurene, Moe Laga-Toleafoa, Tim Swann, Pati SolomonaTyrell,James Waititi.ABOUT FAFSWAGFAFSWAG was established in 2013 as an informal Queer arts collective from southAuckland. As artists and activists FAFSWAG is committed to social change through arts andinnovation, producing bespoke cultural activations that are cutting-edge, culturallyresponsive and socially relevant. Operating across a multitude of interdisciplinary art formsand genres, FAFSWAG artists work collaboratively to activate public and digital space,speaking to our contexts as Queer Indigenous arts practitioners.The collective has since exhibited and performed around the world, at the Centre Pompidouin Paris France, Moku Pacific HQ in London, Emergency Gallery in Vevey Switzerland,Rotterdam International Film Festival, ImagineNATIVE Toronto Canada, AsinabkaIndigenous arts Festival in Ontario Canada, MGM Grand in Las Vegas, and in 2020represented New Zealand at the 22nd Biennale of Sydney NIRIN. FAFSWAG was alsoawarded the 2020 interdisciplinary Arts Laureate award by the New Zealand ArtsFoundation. In 2022 FAFSWAG represented Aotearoa at the world's second largestContemporary Arts Festival - Documenta15 in Kassel, Germany.Alteration is exhibiting now at the Substation in Newport, Naarm, Victoria in so-calledAustralia. It opened Jan 27 and runs until March 28 as part of Midsumma Photo2024.PX Whanau would like to thank Tanu,Elyssia and Nahora for sharing their words,stories andtime for our special broadcast which went live to air Saturday Feb 10 and the full podcastedinterview for our community.Nga mihi nui xSongs included are: Holding in Place by Naomi Sharon - Tanu’s choiceHaere mai Ra/Sway by Bic Runga ( in te reo Maori ) -Elyssia’s choiceJP NEHEMIA - Henua Manihiki ( Kuki Airani) - Nahora’s choice

On this weeks episode of PX Whanau, Sonja Hammer has a joyful korero with two of the actors from the latest cinema project from Taika Waititi ( the first Indigenous Oscar recipient for Best Adapted Screenplay and groundbreaker director and producer -and actor- from Aotearoa). The film is Next Goal Wins, based on the doco of the same name (2014) but this time it’s a “mostly true” fictionalized version in the usual hilarious,self deprecating vibe that Taika is known for. Sonja’s guests are two of the cast of the film Oscar Kightley (Sione’s Wedding, Dawn Raids, bro’ Town) and David Fane (Our Flag means Death, Outrageous Fortune, Eagle vs Shark, bro’Town ), both amazing film and TV creatives in their own right too, from acting to producing to writing, broadcasting and directing. Household names in Aotearoa, Oscar and David speak on their creative relationship with Taika and their feelings about Fa'afafine representation in the film, a first in many ways for cinema, and the importance of queer Pasifika visibility on screen, but also their own personal experiences with Islander queer community,culture and decolonizing labels and ‘‘normalizing” in the broader sense: “in the islands it’s just normal, it’s just life…we don’t even put labels on it, the labels can mess things up a bit” . Next Goal Wins is screening now throughout Australia through Disney studios.Premise: ‘Dutch American football coach Thomas Rongen faces the option of being fired or accepting an almost impossible task: to convert the American Samoa national team, considered one of the weakest football teams in the world, into an elite squad. The storyline also includes fa'afafine player Jaiyah Saelua ( played by Kaimana), who was the first transgender (Faʻafafine) player ever to compete in a World Cup qualifier game’.  BIOS OSCAR KIGHTLEY Oscar Kightley, MNZM, is a man of many talents. After launching The Naked Samoans, he worked with the comedy troupe over five seasons of hit series bro’Town, NZ's first animated show to play in prime time. The group also featured in movie Sione’s Wedding and its 2012 sequel, both of which Kightley co-wrote. In 2013 he took on a serious role: starring as a Samoan-Kiwi detective in TV series Harry. In 2016 movie hit Hunt for the Wilderpeople, he won laughs as a bumbling policeman. He was part of the voice cast of Aroha Bridge in its second season, before joining the cast of 2020 Taika Waititi movie Next Goal Wins. A 2006 Arts Foundation Laureate Award winner and Qantas Award-winning journalist, Kightley was made a member of the NZ Order of Merit in 2009 for services to theatre and television, and a Senior Pacific Artist at the 2016 Arts Pasifika Awards. In early 2020 he began a three month Fullbright-Creative New Zealand Pacific Writer's Residency in Hawai'i.  DAVID FANE Proud Samoan New Zealander David Fane, ONZM, is one of Aotearoa’s most versatile actors, well known for the eclectic characters he has created across his prolific career on stage and screen. First appearing in the early 90s on sketch comedy shows Skitz and Telly Laughs, Fane went on to become a regular on large and small screens in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Pretty quickly, he realised it's always best to work with people you like, so teamed up with some of his best mates to found theatre company, The Naked Samoans. Their particular brand of cutting-edge satire found an instant audience and has endured over 20 years to produce numerous sell out stage shows, 2 feature films, Sione’s Wedding (released in U.S. as Samoan Wedding) 1 and 2, and the beloved and award winning, animated series, Bro’town, for which Fane co- wrote and voiced multiple iconic characters. Some of Fane’s other film roles include the hit comedy, Tongan Ninja, and Samoan- themed horror film, The Tattooist, for which he received best supporting actor nomination at the NZ Film & Television awards. Fane has previously worked with Taika Waititi on award-winning comedy feature, Eagle vs Shark, and two seasons of the HBO Max run-away piratical hit, Our Flag Means Death. Fane's other well-known TV roles include The Strip, Outrageous Fortune, 800 Words, Fresh Eggs and Australian series The Messenger. In 2016, Fane received Creative New Zealand’s Pacific Arts Senior Artist award and in 2023 he was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the performing arts