ABOUT
NGĀ WHAKAMARAMA
Arts Murihiku is Southland’s not-for-profit Regional Arts Organisation. We are heavily focused on capability building within our arts sector. Supporting, connecting, nurturing, and passionately advocating for the arts.
How we do What we do
Our focus is doing capability-building activities for and with the arts sector across Murihiku.
The Murihiku Arts community wants a thriving arts and creativity sector that is Visible, Vibrant and Valued.
Ki te aō marama, Tihei mauri ora!
Whakarongo āke au, Ki te tangi a te manu nei. A te mā tūī, Tūī, Tūī, Tūī, Tūīa, Tūīa I runga, Tūīa I raro, Tūīa I waho, Tūīa I roto. Tūīa te here tangata ki te whai aō.
Ki te aō marama, Tihei mauri ora!
Tākitimu te waka, Tākitimu me Hokonui, me Motupohue me
Kawarau te maunga, Te Āra a Kewa te moana, Rakiura te moutere, Murihiku te whenua. Kō Toi Murihiku taku ingoa.
Naū mai, haere mai, tauti mai.
Ngā tōmairangi ō nga tūpuna, hei whengaia nga kakano mō āpōpō.
The efforts of today will give life to the seeds of tomorrow
Arts Murihiku has been on quite a journey to get where we are today.
Now, with a physical space to call our own, dedicated staff, a community who understand and support who we are and what we do and a pathway to success glittering ahead of us, we are able be a regional arts organisation that makes an impact.
As the whakatauki above says – The efforts of today will give life to the seeds of tomorrow.
Meet the Team
Meet the vibrant minds and passionate hearts behind Arts Murihiku – a collective of extraordinary individuals, each wielding their own distinct talents, ideas, and expertise, bound together by a shared vision for innovation and creativity.
Jeannie Dyer
Admin, Social Media & Promotions
Jeannie joined Arts Murihiku to sort out the boring and not-so-boring stuff.
She is an advocate for arts, culture, and creativity and the role that they play as an essential part of community wellbeing.
A Southlander born and bred with a lot of travel miles on the clock.
She is super stoked to be in a team of awesome humans who are doing the important mahi of ensuring that Southland thrives with creativity.
Lisa Benson
Arts Activator
Harking from an academic arts background in Kirikiriroa and Melbourne, and with eight years playing in the magical realms of Rakiura, Lisa is now settling in to a new normal here in Waihōpai.
She delights in colour, light and sound and has an intermedia, experimental and expanded drawing practice. Radical generosity, deep listening and a playful lens helps Lisa navigate time and space creatively and she is delighted to join with Arts Murihiku and their vision for the region.
Emily Esterline
Public Programmer
Emily Crooks is a multi-disciplinary Artist and Dunedin School of Art alum living and practicing in Murihiku.
When she’s not hiding behind a camera or busy in her studio, she’s passionate about inclusive, accessible spaces for creatives and audiences, as well as encouraging diverse and beneficial conversations that elevate important perspectives and voices.
Belinda Anderson
A Southland local, Belinda has grown up in a world of art, dabbling in painting, acting and other creative things, with a real passion for embroidery. With music being at the forefront of her arty world she has been so lucky to play with many accomplished musicians, some even a little bit famous! On all things admin, she is super excited to be part of the AM team!
Trustees
Rebecca Amundsen
Chair
Becs is the Chair of the Dan Davin Literary Foundation and an avid supporter of the Arts in Southland.
Her interest in the Arts crosses into a passion for heritage. Becs works as a contractor and a volunteer as a co-ordinator of arts, heritage, and community events as well as being an experienced community engagement practitioner.
In her spare time she is an oral historian, cross fitter, camper, and housework avoider. She is the mother of 2 awesome young men and married to another.
Angela Newell
Ange has been an arts devotee all her life, with a background in education (a trained secondary school teacher) and arts and events management.
Her 19 years at Venture Southland/Great South as creative projects manager enabled her to implement many arts initiatives such as the establishment and management of the Southland Arts Festival.
A founding trustee of Shakespeare in the Park Charitable
Trust, since 2001, Ange has also directed and produced many productions. She has also acted on and written for the stage and conducted workshops on drama, directing, and Shakespeare. Currently, Ange is a freelance producer, director and, educator, with community service on the ILT and ILT Foundation boards, Enrich@ILT (gifted and talented school).
Ange also teaches occasionally at English Language Partners, utilising her LTCL Speech and Drama qualification in teaching communication and public speaking to migrants.
Mel McKenzie
Mel McKenzie is an award-winning artist and passionate advocate for artists in Southland. Her work is collected throughout NZ and overseas and exhibited throughout Southland and online via The Penny Drops.
In 2020 she co-founded a local arts directory known as Shop Southland Studios: a social media channel and peer-network that highlights and promotes artists and artisans across Southland. Her academic and professional background is in public health, working across sectors to promote wellbeing. She brings this passion for communication and working cohesively to maximise outcomes through to the Arts Sector. Mel is also a member of the Southland Arts Society.
In her role as mum to 4 children, Mel has been heavily involved in early childhood education over 14 years and an active contributor to local sports clubs. Mel is married to a dairy farmer, living – and working from her studio – on the family farm in Seaward Downs, Southland.
Kathryn Ball
Kathryn Ball is a Chartered Accountant and confesses she has no ability in any area in the Arts but has always had a passion for art and would describe herself as a collector and a keen audience participant.
She is currently a self-employed consultant, supplying advisory services to several local businesses and organisations, and is a director of the company completing the Invercargill Inner City upgrade, Invercargill Central Ltd.
Kathryn is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand and a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Directors.
Kelly-Anne Findlay
Alana Dixon
With a professional background in journalism and the media, born-and-bred Southlander Alana has always had a great love of the arts, culture and heritage, and she is keen to be part of an organisation working to make this sector more visible in the region.
Though her own artistic abilities start and very firmly end with dabbling in creative writing, she is a lifelong and avid lover of dance, theatre and music. With two young daughters, her interest in exploring her whakapapa links in Murihiku and beyond has led to her growing interest in toi Māori as well.
Alana very firmly believes a burgeoning arts sector is integral to a vibrant, thriving region and she looks
forward to playing a part in advocating and championing the arts in Murihiku.
Kerri-Anne Edge
Kerri-Anne is a writer, storyteller and knowledge translator based in Te Anau. With over three decades of experience at the intersection of environment, culture, and community, she brings governance experience from a range of regional and national roles alongside a lifelong involvement in the arts.
She co-founded and leads interdisciplinary initiatives that connect people and place, collaborating with artists and creative practitioners to build shared understanding and approaching knowledge exchange as a reciprocal process.
Kerri-Anne values the arts as a way to enrich community wellbeing, foster mutual understanding, and support locally led, creative responses to the big, shared challenges facing our communities.
Rachel Mann
Rachel is a creative-tech educator and long-standing advocate for the arts in Murihiku. As Programme Manager at SIT’s School of Screen Arts, she supports ākonga in animation, game design, and virtual production, while collaborating with local creatives to develop pathways from high school to tertiary education and industry.
A practising 3D animator and real-time designer (Unity/Unreal) with over 20 years of experience, Rachel’s work explores worldbuilding, interactive storytelling, and place-based narratives rooted in Southland. She is passionate about building capability, fostering inclusive creative communities, and ensuring our region’s arts are visible, vibrant, and valued.
Emma Lindsay
Julie Manson
