A youth arts collective born in a cramped Karangahape Road studio has won the prestigious Bloomberg Philanthropies Global Arts Award, becoming the first New Zealand organization to receive the honour and securing $250,000 in funding for its next three years.
Manaaki Creative Collective was founded in 2022 by four young Auckland artists who wanted to create a free, culturally safe space for rangatahi (young people) aged 14 to 24 to explore visual arts, music production, and digital media. What began with a handful of after-school sessions now serves over 300 young people annually across three Auckland locations.
"We started because we couldn't find a space that felt like us," says co-founder Jade Turei, 26, a multidisciplinary artist of Ngāpuhi and Samoan descent. "Galleries felt gatekept. Schools felt rigid. We wanted somewhere you could walk in with zero experience and leave knowing you had something to say."
The collective's programming blends contemporary art practices with Māori and Pasifika cultural traditions. Participants might learn digital illustration in the morning and tā moko design principles in the afternoon. A recent residency program paired Auckland rangatahi with Indigenous Australian artists from Melbourne's Footscray Community Arts Centre.
The Bloomberg judges specifically praised Manaaki's "Mahi Tahi" mentorship model, where former participants return as paid teaching artists, creating a self-sustaining pipeline of creative talent. Over 40 alumni have gone on to study at Elam School of Fine Arts, AUT, and Whitecliffe College of Arts & Design.
The collective's annual exhibition, "Not Yet Titled," held at the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, has become one of the city's most anticipated cultural events, drawing over 5,000 visitors last year.
"This award belongs to every young person who has walked through our doors," Turei says. "We're just getting started."