Culture and Creativity Seminar – Te Mauri o te Rakau (The Life Force of the Tree): Story, Sound and Screen from an Unfinished Manuscript
Speaker: Andraya Stapp, Pete Anderson, Sebastian Lowe, Bjørn ArntsenDate\Time: Thursday 5 November 2026, 12:30-13:30Location: Building 1 Level A Room 1A21, University of Canberra (NB Room 1a21 is accessed from the foyer joining Building 1 and Mizzuna café); or Zoom: http://zoom.us/j/95029077504 AbstractPresented as part of the Donald Horne Creative and Cultural Fellowship, this session opens with my response to my mother’s fragmented account of her childhood in the remote coastal community of Whareponga, Aotearoa New Zealand, in the late 1930s and 1940s. Building on pedagogies developed during my doctoral research, I offer a vision of the practice-led process and its evolution into Te Mauri o te Rakau, an artwork and short film centred on three trees, now showing in the Phases exhibition at Belconnen Arts Centre. The 10-minute film will be screened as part of the presentation, followed by a panel discussion with the collaborators who became part of the story: Peter Anderson, whose cinematography and editing gave the fragments their image and rhythm, and composers and musicians Sebastian Lowe, who plays Maori instruments, and Bjorn Arnsten, who brings his Sámi heritage to the score.All are welcome! BioAndraya Stapp (Ngati Porou and Te Whanau a Apanui) is a Maori Dutch woman born in Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand. A secondary teacher of more than twenty years, she is now a Lecturer in Cultural Heritage and Coordinator of Indigenous and Pasifika Programs (Student Equity and Participation) at the University of Canberra. She works where Creative Writing, Indigenous Studies and Critical Animal Studies meet. Her research asks how and why we might tell stories of living and dying well with the more-than-human world, with a focus on connection, storying, responsibility and transformation. Award-winning educator Pete Anderson is Director of Arts and Design at Gungahlin College in Canberra and a regular presence at the University of Canberra, where his expertise supports the teaching and learning of undergraduate visual communication students. Working across digital media, photography, theatre, industrial arts and music, Pete has collaborated with Andraya on projects including earlier work on Okunoshima Island, Japan. He is currently developing a longer place-based video documentary at Whareponga. Sebastian J. Lowe is an anthropologist, interdisciplinary artist, and educator from Aotearoa New Zealand. His relational work is grounded in responsibility, care, and place, connecting creative practice with community through sound, nga taonga puoro (traditional Maori musical instruments), and co-creative research rooted in Te Tiriti o Waitangi (the Treaty of Waitangi). His doctoral research develops taonga puoro as a practice of listening, improvisation, and shared responsibility – a ‘sonorous ethics’ in research. Working across creative practice, scholarship, and collaboration, he focuses on research that matters to people and supports real social change. Bjørn Arntsen is a Sami-born New Zealand composer and educator with experience teaching at Juilliard, NYU, and Te Whare Wananga o Waikato (the University of Waikato). Bjørn’s music often blends Sámi syntaxes, rhythms and repetitions found in Joik with Maori vocabulary. His pieces have a strong focus and connection with mana whenua- indigenous land rights. His PhD research is on involuntary musical imagery and transformation via deep listening and joik. His debut album, Bàrru was released in August 2025 on Atoll Records The Culture and Creativity Seminar Series is hosted by the Centre for Cultural and Creative Research (CCCR), Faculty of Arts and Design, University of Canberra. To discover upcoming seminars, please follow us on Facebook @uccccr, or Instagram and Twitter @uc_cccr. Alternatively, join our mailing list by emailing cccr@canberra.edu.au. Any questions and accessibility requests please contact: cccr@canberra.edu.au.
