Waitākere Arts and Cultural Development Trust

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Trust Board Members

Naomi McCleary MNZM 

Chair

Naomi has worked in the arts and cultural arena for over thirty years.

As Arts Manager for Waitakere Council, Naomi developed a significant arts portfolio for the city, including a ground-breaking arts/design practice placing artists at the heart of public space development, a model of best practice adopted by many councils around New Zealand. She also initiated an events programme including the Going West Books & Writers Festival and Trash to Fashion.

Naomi received the inaugural Creative New Zealand Award for Contribution to the Arts in Local Government (2003) and was a finalist in the Women of Influence Awards 2015.

Naomi was the founding chair of the McCahon House Trust and Chair for 18 years. She is currently also a Trustee on the Going West Trust.

In her spare time, Naomi runs an arts consultancy (advocART Ltd).

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Jermaine Reihana

Deputy Chair
Ngāti Hine / Ngai Tūpoto

Jermaine Reihana was born and raised in Waitakere, attending Kura Kaupapa at Hoani Waititi Marae where he also became a long time member of Nga Tumanako Kapa Haka Roopu. Graduating with honours in Māori Visual Arts (2012) from Massey University, Palmerston North, he then went on to take part in the 2013 Te Atinga 25 years of Māori Art Exhibition which helped to establish his professional arts career.

Jermaine is a kaiako for the Kākano Youth Arts Collective based at Corban Estate and has worked on art projects with a number of community-based arts organisations.

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Jarcinda Stowers-Ama

Trustee
Ko Takitumu te vaka
Ko Tumu-te-varovaro te ipukarea
E te Moananui o Kiva

Jarcinda is a New Zealand born Cook Islands and Samoan artist, project manager and producer. Living arts and te peu Kuki Airani – the ways of Cook Islands culture and values – were the foundations of her upbringing in West Auckland.

Jarcinda is the Director of the Pacifica Arts Centre (based on the Corban Estate) and serves as a trustee on the Objectspace board. She is also a founding member of Turou Takitua, a Cook Islands storytelling collective that is inspired by the knowledge and art practices passed down by her elders.

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Carolynne Stone

Trustee
Ngā Puhi / Te Māhurehure

Carolynne has been a strong advocate for local communities for over 30 years. Elected to Waitakere City Council in 1991 she remained a councillor for 15 years, becoming Deputy Mayor alongside Mayor Bob Harvey.

Living her whole life in West Auckland, Carolynne is involved in a number of community organisations and local projects. She has a strong understanding of the processes involved in the work with Auckland Council, the Local Boards and the community to ensure the continued success of the Corban Art Centre.

Her key interests are in best practice governance and the role of the Trust in the development of the Corban Art Centre in an increasingly challenging and dynamic environment.

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Pita Turei

Trustee
Ngai Tai Ki Tamaki / Ngāti Pāoa / Ngā Rauru Kiitahi

Pita is a local iwi advocate who has become known as a noted storyteller and respected orator connecting a new generation with the ancient histories of Tāmaki Makaurau.

With an early career in theatre and dance, Pita has toured both nationally and internationally with organisations including the Adelaide Ballet; Limbs Dance Company and Taiao Dance Theatre.

A creative collaborative practitioner and multi-disciplinary artist, he has since worked widely across the creative industries and spent many years in the film industry as a director, actor and photographer while also being significantly involved with Ngā Aho Whakaari Māori On Screen.

Pita has worked on several large-scale public art projects across Tāmaki Makaurau including at the Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland Waterfront, Spaghetti Junction, SH20 Landscape Design and Te Wao Nui Auckland Zoo. He was a finalist in the Te Wero Bridge Design competition.

Pita is currently a member of Taumata-ā-Iwi advising Auckland War Memorial Museum and is a resident artist at Corban Estate.

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Bernie Harfleet

Trustee

Professionally, Bernie has worked with people with intellectual disabilities for 35 years.

A practicing artist, Bernie often collaborates creatively with partner Donna Turtle Sarten. The pair are well known for their social arts practice that shines a light on some of the darker injustices of life. Together they used to share a studio at Corban Estate Arts Centre for five years.

Part of their art practice is the idea of community involvement, which they term ‘Community Activated Art Action’. After hearing a Coroner’s report in 2015 that stated a child’s death was in part due to the family’s damp and cold living conditions, they started ‘Give a Kid a Blanket’ (GaKaB) as a piece of Art Action.

GaKaB remains a living artwork and in 2019 became a registered NZ Charity for which Bernie is co-founder, trustee and administrator. Bernie and Donna also run ‘Potluck Communal Kai’ a monthly community meal in Ranui, fill local Pataka kai, and support ‘Feed the Homeless - Auckland’.

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Sharon Davies

Trustee

Sharon is a true Westie. She is passionate about her community and its people.

Sharon’s first taste to local government was in 2004 when she was elected to the Waitākere Community Board.

After not being re-elected in 2007 she was then employed by Waitākere City Council as the Executive Assistance to Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse until the amalgamation of the 7 local councils in November 2010. She then transitioned into the role of PA to the Waitākere Ranges Local Board until her voluntary resignation in 2021.

In her community space she is involved in several not for profit organisations ranging from community, environmental to social issues.

In June 2013 Sharon was awarded a Queens Service Medal for services to her community and became a Justice of the Peace in October 2019.

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Stan Fong

Trustee

Stan Fong is an animation professional who has over thirty years experience in the industry. He has had significant involvement in various aspects in the industry and has worked extensively in different regions, including Europe, Asia, and North America, where he resided for ten years.

In 2015, Stan returned to Aotearoa and collaborated with Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Koutuku to establish Kurawaka Animation and Design. The primary goal of this program is to offer talented tamariki an opportunity to enter the animation industry and nurture their creative skills.

Building upon the success and impact of the Kurawaka program, Stan partnered with AMA Training, a NZQA accredited P.T.E., to form AMA Digital in 2022. This institution provides a tertiary level digital arts program with a view to building a career in the industry.

Both Kurawaka Animation and Design and AMA Digital, is making a significant contribution to the animation and digital arts community in New Zealand, fostering the growth of young talent and helping them pursue successful careers in the industry.

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