Second of the #softpastel portraits - Rawini.

#pastelpainting #softpastelartist #nzartist #MastoArt #czechartist #pastelportrait #maoriportrait #portraitofmaori #nzculture

A part of my #artcreation is get to know more about Māori culture so I could better understand when applied in my art.

I was privileged to participate in #pōwhiri onto Te Whare Koa on Waitangi Day 💚
Hongi with Waitaki Multicultural coordinator Paula.

P.S. Matching colors of our clothes is coincidental.

#maoriculture #hongi #tewharekoa #nzculture #

"In turning to AI to help revive te reo, the Māori language, Mahelona and Jones, who is Māori, wanted to do things differently. They overcame resource limitations to develop their own language AI tools, and created mechanisms to collect, manage, and protect the flow of Māori data so it won’t be used without the community’s consent, or worse, in ways that harm its people."

#aotearoa #māori #ai #language #nzculture #nz

https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/04/22/1050394/artificial-intelligence-for-the-people/

"In response to Chris Luxon’s comment about potential gang members ‘sitting in a garage in South Auckland’, artist-curator Ema Tavola shares some photos of people who visited her own garage over the years."

#NZCulture #NZPol #GiveNothingToRacism

https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/11-12-2022/in-celebration-of-my-south-auckland-garage

"In response to Chris Luxon’s comment about potential gang members ‘sitting in a garage in South Auckland’, artist-curator Ema Tavola shares some photos of people who visited her own garage over the years."

#NZCulture #NZPol #GiveNothingToRacism

https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/11-12-2022/in-celebration-of-my-south-auckland-garage

I was sad to read this, but not surprised. NZ is so desensitised to animal cruelties in farming and gambling sectors, and that normalises devaluation of stereotyped human lives also. It's all connected by dissociation, paranoia, naivety and narcissism.

https://mastodon.nz/@NZChineseGenealogy/109398132067961584

#nz #prejudice #hatecrime #nzculture

"New Zealand sees itself as an egalitarian society where people get a fair go. That national id jars with the fact the country’s political system has long been lorded over by a group of people who hold huge amounts of wealth and power, not by any real effort of their own, but by a mixture of state-enforced privilege and birthright.
...
I’m talking, of course, about those who own property in New Zealand’s housing market."

#nzpolitics #nzculture

https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/21-09-2022/its-time-to-have-the-debate

"In 1915, bicycles made up about 77% of traffic in central Christchurch, while the car comprised only 3% of traffic. By 2018, there had been a complete reversal, with the census finding that 76% of people commuted by car, truck or van and just 5.6% used a bicycle to get to work.

So, where did all the cyclists go? And what else did we lose in the process?"

#nzhistory #nzculture #christchurchnz #cycling #transport

https://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/129711597/where-did-all-the-christchurch-cyclists-go

"... nearly a quarter of the one million people living with a disability lack a job but are available to work.
...
With all the labour shortages that exist in Aotearoa, and which the government is trying to plug with an extra 12,000 working holidaymakers, a potential workforce already exists. And yet ... the country has normalised the “invisibility” of disabled people."

#nzpolitics #nzculture #disability #employment

https://thespinoff.co.nz/business/30-08-2022/the-importance-of-work-for-people-with-disabilities

"O’Brien is optimistic about the controversy, in the same way that Country Calendar is always upbeat about farming. He feels that any response – even negative – is a sign that New Zealanders feel ownership of the show. It also means he doesn’t see Country Calendar going anywhere soon. “There will always be a demand for good storytelling about New Zealanders from other New Zealanders,” he says. "

#nzculture

https://thespinoff.co.nz/pop-culture/28-08-2022/the-secrets-behind-country-calendars-remarkable-longevity

"Who’s driving a new, aggro New Zealand where death threats are mainstream and disinformation is contagious. Stuff Circuit investigates the inciters ..."

Content warning: violence and rhetoric/threats
#longwatch a little over an hour

#nzpolitics #nzculture #disinformation

https://interactives.stuff.co.nz/2022/08/circuit/fire-and-fury-disinformation-in-new-zealand/

"The prominence of sustainable, reusable alternatives best defines New Zealand’s world-leading status.
...
For all the progress made in workplaces, the concept of giving specific paid time off to people experiencing period pain and discomfort is still controversial."

#menstruation #menstrual #health #nzculture #nzbusiness

https://thespinoff.co.nz/business/23-07-2022/how-aotearoa-became-a-world-leader-in-the-period-industry

"Now in its third year, the Y25 has evolved to become more diverse than ever. Y25 programme manager Rachel Cleary says the transition from a wāhine space into one that celebrates women and non-binary people was an important but natural extension to be an inclusive organisation."

#representation #achievement #nzculture

https://thespinoff.co.nz/partner/13-07-2022/this-is-what-the-future-of-new-zealand-looks-like-meet-the-2022-y25

*Striking hospital workers: What are they paid, what's on offer and what do they want?*

#nzpolitics #nzculture #numbers

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/128714371/striking-hospital-workers-what-are-they-paid-whats-on-offer-and-what-do-they-want

"My mother is sixth generation New Zealand-born Chinese, and my father is fifth generation New Zealand European of Scottish origin.
...
Check the next census or hospital or educational institution’s ethnic identity form, and you’ll find options for NZ European Pākehā, but no tick box that acknowledges my mother’s cultural identity as a New Zealander of Chinese descent."

#nzculture #racism

https://thespinoff.co.nz/business/21-05-2022/simon-henrys-anti-asian-sentiment-is-sadly-all-too-common

*The website making it easier to find a woman or gender diverse tradie*

"Kaniuk says Tradespeople isn’t just about giving customers more options. It’s about boosting the profile of the few women and gender diverse people who work in trades industries and sending more business their way. The idea was that with more opportunities and more work, it might contribute to the gradual growth of diversity within the sector."

#nzculture

https://thespinoff.co.nz/business/23-11-2020/the-website-making-it-easier-to-find-a-woman-or-gender-diverse-tradie/

"For an entire generation of music lovers, Ready to Roll was appointment viewing. In this piece, first published by Audioculture, Fiona Rae looks at the impact the show had on New Zealand and our appreciation of homegrown music."

#nzhistory #nzculture #nzmusic #nzmedia

https://thespinoff.co.nz/music/08-11-2020/internet-killed-the-music-video-star-the-legacy-of-ready-to-roll/

Again we see that there is not a lack of ability or resources to address these issues, but a lack of desire from those in a position to direct those resources.

"While undoubtedly a challenging time, for many of the capital’s most marginalised people, the Covid-19 crisis provided the motivation they needed to move into a home – and showed how well government, social and community agencies can work together to help."

#nzpolitics #nzculture #homelessness

https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/14-06-2020/how-lockdown-helped-get-wellingtons-rough-sleepers-off-the-streets/

"Two years ago, Toby Morris met Tasia for the Side Eye comic ‘Empty Shelves’. As New Zealand emerges from the strict Covid-19 lockdown of alert level four he catches up with her again, and finds that while some things have changed, others have not."

#tobymorris #webcomic #nzculture #nzpolitics

https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/01-05-2020/the-side-eye-essential/

"A proper reckoning with March 15 2019 demands that we take up a generations-long struggle to destroy all the exclusions that make up our society and produce the conditions we know as racism. An essay by Morgan Godfery."

#longread #racism #nzculture #nzpolitics #christchurchshootings

https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/13-03-2020/they-are-us-an-urgent-uncomfortable-call-to-action/