Mahuika

Kia ora,

My name is Benyamin and I am a young artist currently living in Wellington, New Zealand. Originally from Porirua, I lived in Israel when I was younger, which has given me a strong and eclectic cultural identity that I feel is very unique and an asset to the work I do. I am involved and interested in many art forms, but concentrating mainly on the literary arts - poetry in particular.

I started writing just over a year ago. I have no formal poetry training, which I feel is an asset to my work, giving me enormous creative freedom. As I experimented with style, form and structure, a collection of poetry began brewing. I am currently collating these poems into a collection that I will look to publish. These poems respond to my life and the lives of others in New Zealand, through the eyes of the warrior Maui. It relates to my interest in Maori myth, a journey of words through the vibrant elements of Aotearoa. I hope to complete this collection by the end of 2010. You can find a handful of these poems below or in the Show section under writing...

I have also been involved with the performing arts industry in Wellington, through various roles including directing, producing, acting, designing and most recently stage managing the 2010 Fringe Festival Awards in Wellington - which was a big success. I have also studied theatre at Victoria University. I have taken time away from the performing arts community to focus on my poetry work, but I am still involved through my position at Toi Poneke Hub.

I am currently working at the Toi Poneke Hub, which opened in February, and is a resource and development space based at Toi Poneke Arts Centre. Through this role, I have been working on many projects to build the space and to support the Wellington arts industry, working with arts practitioners and industry professionals. For more information, visit - http://toiponekehub.wcc.govt.nz/