Māpura Studios is a creative space for people living with disability and disadvantage – intellectual, mental, physical, neurological conditions, stroke, autism, brain damage, grief, anxiety, and poverty.
Panacea Arts Charitable Trust received a Foundation North grant to enable its many Māpura Studios to run arts programmes designed to enrich and improve individual and community health and well-being through the medium of creativity.
Listen to the story:
The demand for arts-based activities and events for disabled and marginalised communities is overwhelming. To ensure it is accessible to as many people as possible, Māpura delivers programmes to around 350 people across Tāmaki Makaurau: in Papakura, Penrose, Manurewa, Ōtara, Māngere, Onehunga, Ōtāhuhu, Paremoremo, St Lukes, Avondale, Takapuna and Orewa.
“Māpura is a creative space where people of all strands of life and diversity are invited to express themselves. It’s a place where they are supported and nurtured. The most rewarding thing for me is seeing that transformation when people see that there are other ways of communicating in this world. It’s an absolute gift to be a part of people’s growth and self-discovery.”
Demand continues to grow. In South Auckland communities, for example, Māpura has increased the programmes available from three, catering to just 25 participants, to 15 for around 170 participants, the majority of whom are Māori and Pacific.
Māpura programmes are designed to meet the needs of diverse participants, each with their own interests and needs. Across its arts programmes, tutors and therapists work alongside each artist, encouraging them to explore what is interesting and meaningful to them as individuals, and to experience a range of mediums and art forms, from painting, to drawing, cartooning, collage and crafting. Experimentation and play in a relaxed environment enables participants to have fun, share their ideas, and build their confidence, communication skills and social relationships.
“Māpura is one of the highlights of my week. It is one of the very few places in my life where it is safe to take risks and try new things, because there is no such thing as failure or mistake. I can make choices for myself and self-advocate, knowing that my decisions are always respected and I am heard.”
‘Open studio’ programmes are complemented by programmes designed for specific audiences, including creative therapy for teens and for young adults, and a programme for people who have had a stroke.
For those who would rather make music, Māpura Sings sessions bring people together to share their favourite songs, explore different vocal techniques, develop their own unique sounds, and collaborate with others to create unique Māpura songs.
“The sheer benefit of art is not only as a way to have fun and reconnect yourself. There is the deeper therapeutic process of being in a community space for people can connect with others as well as connect with their own inner child, connect with just having fun and playing. We’ve had quite a few people come through that have been quite shy, then as they developed throughout the sessions they get a little bit more confidence, a little bit more connection with others.”
Collaboration with other organisations in the community assists Māpura to reach a wider audience and opens up special opportunities. The Māpura Māngere Studio, for example, is collaborating with the Te Ara-Rata Stream Team, a local conservation group which is cleaning and restoring the four streams that flow through Mangere. Māpura artists are producing five panels for a mural to enhance the environment around the streams. The panels tell the story of the whakapapa of the Māngere area, and the life of the streams. Each artist selects a plant, insect, fish or bird to draw. Once these are developed, the artist can choose to have their image painted onto a panel.
"People come in here and I think when they get here they feel like they’re on a holiday retreat. Once they put their hand to a paintbrush, it’s like you see them escape somewhere, it’s like they’re going to another planet. It’s like a release, it’s quite therapeutic. I just love when the students come here and I see them really happy about themselves and their work.”
The Māpura team and its dedicated volunteers create welcoming spaces where there is a fusion of creative arts and therapeutic process. For the participants, those are spaces where, in the process of making art or music, they can experience acceptance and inclusion, celebration, fun and friendship, advocacy, and a vision of equality.
“Mapura makes me feel more welcome to be myself than any other place in my life.”
Watch:
