For the Auckland Festival, Creative New Zealand arranged for 30 international festival directors and producers to see New Zealand performances and showcases and to meet with New Zealand performing arts practitioners and producers.

Te Manu Ka Tau, Flying Friends International Visitors Programme is designed to introduce New Zealand work to overseas directors and producers to encourage them to present and show New Zealand work overseas.

The international visitors were officially welcomed to Aotearoa by Ngāti Whātua at Ōrākei Marae before being treated to a New Zealand theatre showcase by the Auckland Theatre Company, Indian Ink and Taki Rua.

One of the programme’s aims is to build indigenous links with other first nation people and festivals around the world. Among the delegates were six Aborigine festival representatives from around Australia, who were in Aotearoa as part of a collaborative effort between Creative New Zealand and the Arts Council of Australia. Other indigenous festival representatives were Di Mills from The Dreaming Festival in Queensland and Melanie Fernandez from Planet IndigenUS in Toronto. Both stayed to attend Pasifika in Auckland and New Zealand acts at WOMAD in New Plymouth.

“I am amazed by the variety of work and artists. This visit has just scratched the surface. How can I learn more? I am hoping this is the beginning of a long-term relationship with the arts of this country,” says Melanie Fernandez.

Part of the Te Manu Ka Tau, Flying Friends International Visitors Programme was the Indigenous Conversations forum, which gave the delegates an opportunity to engage with Māori and Pacific artists.