Inspiration #9: Libby Hakaraia (Māoriland) & Sophie Jerram
“By looking directly at grim histories together, we can posit new futures.”
By Sophie Jerram, curator, artist and AFIELD Peer
Oh, to change the world! And failing that, a small space in it. While space is architectural, it is also relational, and, ultimately, political. Just as old forests have atmosphere, a collection of humans, conscious of their presence together, can bring about a palpable attunement. Many artists know this experience of creating artist-run spaces; an interior common environment for like-minded souls to share their dreams. Even better is an open network commons, a permeable space; welcoming and non-judgmental. In such a shared, charged environment, we can collectively experience alternatives to the numbing screens of commerce, or enclosed bunkers of military power.
Every March, Māoriland Film Festival achieves the profound transformation of the entire town of Ōtaki, in Aotearoa New Zealand, by being dedicated to the kaupapa (intention) of Indigenous storytelling. Ōtaki is a town of 4,000 people, 90 minutes north of the settler-colonial capital, Wellington. Māoriland is a global film festival, showing stories from all over the world for five days. It provides international residencies, scholarships and youth training, and now has a permanent hub and shop, championing the festival and local crafts.
Visitors cluster and weave over the small town as the festival utilizes local parks and a handful of buildings on the main street. The films and discussions ooze joyful connections, humor and a refusal to turn away from dark injustices. For visitors like me, as tangata tīriti, (English-origin settler, living here by the mandate of Te Tīriti o Waitangi), there is huge relief in honest films about enslavement, Indigenous land practices, or the revival of seed sovereignty. By looking directly at grim histories together, we can posit new futures.
Māoriland founders Libby Hakaraia and Tainui Stephens have understood how to work with the history of Ōtaki. There has been a continuous Ngāti Raukawa (local tribe) presence since the early 19th century. Two hundred years later, Māori voices meet with international Indigenous voices through the medium of film.
Back in Wellington I have been working with a collective on a three-month inner-city project to build community connections and knowledge in the face of multiple crises—climate, health, food and seed sovereignty, and techno-political assaults. Critical Signals is gearing up for a second year of talks, workshops and exhibitions in August 2026. While Critical Signals will be contained to one building and a streetfront rather than a small village, we share the intention with Māoriland to join multiple voices, Indigenous and otherwise, with joyful, truthful and touching experiences, as we face a rapidly disrupting world.
Sophie Jerram is a curator, artist, and AFIELD Peer based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington. She is the co-founder of Letting Space, Urban Dream Brokerage and Now Future, and currently leads Critical Signals, a community-centered initiative addressing climate and social crises through collective knowledge.
Libby Hakaraia MNZM is an award-winning filmmaker, and the founder of Māoriland. Her work centers on the empowerment of Indigenous voices through screen culture and storytelling.
#AFIELDinspiration: the unwritten histories of artist-led initiatives
Image: Sophie Jerram and friends at Māoriland, Ōtaki, Aotearoa New Zealand, 2025. Photo courtesy of Sophie Jerram.