Culti.VĀ.te, FAB.ricate, Acti.VĀ.te: A Moana-Centered Creative Praxis
Lecture by Rosanna Raymond as part of the conference Healing Feminism.
Grounded in the Samoan notion of vā—a relational space that honours connection and reciprocity—my body centered practice recentres Moana-based protocols and epistemologies, through the creation of the Vā body. This SaVĀge methodology employs the tenants of Culti.VĀ.tion, FAB.rication, to Acti.VĀ.te people, spaces, and things. This presentation is a visceral offering: a weaving of visual, aural, and performative threads that intersect academic and artistic languages as I draw from over 30 years of experience working across Aotearoa, the UK, Europe, and the Moana Nui (Pacific).
Sistar S’pacifc aka Rosanna Raymond is an artist, performer, and cultural activist known for her dynamic contributions to contemporary Moana Nui (Pacific) arts. Her embodied practice, or acti.VĀ.tions, critiques colonial museum traditions and activates the Vā Body—a living vessel that holds space with ancestral, present, and future narratives. Raymond’s work bridges performance, installation, and dialogue to keep culture alive through innovation and relational practice.