{"id":13,"date":"2024-06-03T12:24:49","date_gmt":"2024-06-03T12:24:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.radioindustrynews.com.au\/?p=13"},"modified":"2024-06-03T12:24:49","modified_gmt":"2024-06-03T12:24:49","slug":"abc-presenter-seini-taumoepeau-dies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioindustrynews.com.au\/index.php\/2024\/06\/03\/abc-presenter-seini-taumoepeau-dies\/","title":{"rendered":"ABC presenter S\u0113ini Taumoepeau dies"},"content":{"rendered":"

We are deeply saddened at the passing of beloved orator and songwoman S\u0113ini \u2018Sistanative\u2019 Taumoepeau (1975\u2013May 2024) at 48, known to many across Indigenous Australia and Oceania because of her dedication to extending the stories and narratives of Indigenous Oceania, S\u0113ini began her career at just 13 years of age, working alongside her mother on ABC radio.<\/span><\/p>\n

S\u0113ini was born on Gadigal lands on the Eora Nation and spent her early childhood living with her grandparents and extended family in the Kingdom of Tonga, moving back to Gadigal lands at the age of eight. Feeling a close connection to place and community both in her ancestral homelands and those of her birth, after finishing her University studies S\u0113ini travelled regularly to Ti Tree in the Northern Territory to teach in local schools and carried the skin name Napangardi.<\/span><\/p>\n

She was one of the co-founders of the Pacific Wave Festival, a recurring event during the early 2000\u2019s that provided one of the first platforms for members of the Pacific diaspora to share their contemporary culture. For many budding artists, it was this Festival and the opportunities that it provided to see themselves represented that sparked the ambition to follow this path.<\/span><\/p>\n

S\u0113ini first established a connection to QAGOMA in 2006 when the then Curator of Pacific Art, Maud Page invited her to present her \u2018soulful lyrics\u2019 independently and as part of Bounty 75 (with Airi Ingram (Drum Drum) and Si Fixion (The Bird)) for the opening weekend celebrations of the Gallery of Modern Art. In the program for this event Sistanative is described as a Tongan Diva \u2014 and she certainly could move a crowd. Though probably less well known S\u0113ini was an equally passionate life-long learner, continuing to grow her expertise and practice across disciplines as diverse as contemporary music, media, arts, education and the metaphysical sciences. This diversity something S\u0113ini insisted was who she is as an Indigenous woman.<\/span><\/p>\n

I first met S\u0113ini in 2014 when she was the master of ceremonies for the performances staged as part of the Contemporary Pacific Arts Festival at Footscray Arts Centre in Melbourne. Apparent from the moment that she first walked on the stage, S\u0113ini was there to elevate and make space for the amazing community of creative talent that surrounded her from her sister Latai and lifelong friend Lisa Fala\u2019afi to the members of West Papuan band Rise of the Morning Sun.<\/span><\/p>\n

S\u0113ini\u2019s acted from a place of deep commitment to the struggles of Indigenous peoples worldwide and was as politically active in fighting for the recognition of the First peoples of Australia, West Papua, New Caledonia and, for many years, Palestine, as she has been for the rights of the peoples of Oceania in the face of climate change and ongoing imperialism.<\/span><\/p>\n

In her role as presenter for the ABC\u2019s Pacific Beat, S\u0113ini travelled to Brisbane for the opening of \u2018The 9th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art\u2019 (APT9) in 2018 providing one of only media platforms for Pacific artists to reach beyond the walls of the Gallery to engage a broader cross section of the Australian community. S\u0113ini\u2019s commitment to this community is perhaps best exemplified through Reading Oceania, a practice she streamed from her Marrickville loungeroom to provide spaces for her community of creative Oceanians to ingest knowledge, bearing witness to and confronting what she termed our collective indigenous vanishing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Such was the importance of this practice and the community that it nurtured that it was curated into the NIRIN: 22nd Biennale of Sydney by Brook Andrew. In Venice a month ago, S\u0113ini captured the hearts of hundreds singing LOTU: Kumi Hina (Pray\/ER seeking Hina) as she led a procession through the lofty spaces of OceanSpace in Chiesa di San Lorenzo for the Vernissage opening of Re-stor(y)ing Oceania. It felt at once nurturing and challenging to mark time with Sistanative as she warmed the air and cold marble of this ancient church further with laughter, respect, careful thought and sharing as she guided us through \u2014\u00a0NATIVE GAZE \u2014 and what would be her last Reading Oceania.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the time of her passing, S\u0113ini was preparing to travel to Hawaii for the Festival of Pacific Arts and had been commissioned to bring back interviews and stories from her time with artists there for a number of media platforms.<\/span><\/p>\n

We are proud to have had her insights, support and energy fill the spaces of these Galleries and, like many in her beloved community will miss her energy, integrity, honesty and generosity of spirit dearly.<\/span><\/p>\n

Our deepest condolences to S\u0113ini\u2019s extended family and close friends.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rest peacefully Sistanative.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ruth McDougall is Curator, Pacific Art, QAGOMA<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We are deeply saddened at the passing of beloved orator and songwoman S\u0113ini \u2018Sistanative\u2019 Taumoepeau (1975\u2013May 2024) at 48, known to many across Indigenous Australia and Oceania because of her dedication to extending the stories and narratives of Indigenous Oceania, S\u0113ini began her career at just 13 years of age, working alongside her mother on … Continue reading “ABC presenter S\u0113ini Taumoepeau dies”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorised"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioindustrynews.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioindustrynews.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioindustrynews.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioindustrynews.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioindustrynews.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioindustrynews.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioindustrynews.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioindustrynews.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioindustrynews.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}