Written by Stace Robertson, disabled artist and Lead Accessibility Advisor | Kaiārahi a Toi Ōritetanga at Arts Access Aotearoa. Stace is in charge of the Taha Hotu Deaf and Disabled Artist Iniative programme development. 

I recently attended Nui te Kōrero, Creative New Zealand’s biannual conference, which was held in Tauranga Moana, from 8-10 September 2025 – its theme was Kia kotahi te tū Standing together for the arts which set the tone for three days of kōrero about collaboration, equity and belonging.

This time Nui te Kōrero was co-curated by singer-songwriter, producer and political candidate, Ria Hall and Henrietta Bollinger, writer in many forms, activist and disability rights advocate. Henrietta is also the inaugural (CNZ sponsored) recipient of the Whakahoa Kaitoi Whanaketanga Creative New Zealand Artist Fellowship 2023 which is offered by Arts Access Aotearoa.

Henrietta’s programming meant Nui te Kōrero had the largest cohort of Deaf and disabled people attending and presenting yet.

Arts Access Aotearoa was well represented at Nui te Kōrero with my colleagues Caleb Gordon, Katie Querin and Neil Wallace also attending.

With support from Creative New Zealand to attend, I co-facilitated a breakout session kōrero with Robyn Hunt (inaugural recipient of the Toi Pōneke d/Deaf and disabled artist residency and Kim Anderson (current Whakahoa Kaitoi Whanaketanga Creative New Zealand Artist Fellowship recipient). Together, we spoke about how targeted, accessible opportunities can remove barriers and foster equity for Deaf and disabled artists.

We spoke to a packed-out room of artists, arts workers and creative practitioners including other disabled artists which reflects the eagerness of the sector to understand how to collaborate with and bring Deaf and disabled artists into their work.

Our kōrero covered:

• Why these opportunities matter
• What makes them accessible and their impact
• What more the sector can do to open its doors to Deaf and disabled artists.

As mentioned, our session was one of many led by Deaf, turi, tangata whaikaha and disabled artists including:

• Pelenakeke Brown’s plenary session ‘Crip time and the Va: Intersectional pathways to accessible arts practice’
• Breakout sessions by Rāhera Turner and Dr Laura Haughey, (Equal Voices Arts co-founders): Designing with both hands: building bi-lingual (Deaf and hearing) practice
• Tusiata Avia, Lusi Faiva, Moana Ete: Living, creating and thriving as disabled Pasifika artists
• Duncan Armstrong: Inclusive creative education: Shaping accessible arts learning
• Nicola Owen: Introduction to the practice of audio description.

I couldn’t attend every session, but the ones I joined were powerful. It’s such a rare thing to be able to share space with so many from the disability arts community at once and in this way Nui te Kōrero felt groundbreaking. What stood out was not only the kōrero but also how I felt in the space with so many of us there. It removed the pressure that comes from being one or few from a minority community in a space.

The accessibility of Nui te Kōrero showed real progress from previous years, with a quiet space, a team of NZSL interpreters and incredible manaakitanga and support from CNZ staff. Still, many of us also found aspects of the conference inaccessible. This is not unusual, and it is a reminder of how much further we still need to go. The way Deaf and disabled people supported each other, swapping mobility aids, fetching kai and audio describing slides shows the sector what is possible when accessibility and interdependence are the default.

This experience at Nui te Kōrero came soon after the hui I ran in Tāmaki Makaurau, bringing together Deaf and disabled artists to share Taha Hotu Deaf and disabled artists initiative and kōrero about their practice. Reflecting on both gatherings, it felt like the beginning of a critical mass: Deaf and disabled artists who are not only present but expected, anticipated and valued. This is what Kia kotahi te tū – Standing together for the arts looks like in action. The challenge now is to keep building on this momentum.