- 25 March - 10 April 2025
HELP US CELEBRATE A DECADE OF MĀORI PERFORMING ARTS
The past decade has seen Te Pou Theatre grow into a vibrant kaupapa Māori home for performing arts in Tāmaki Makaurau. Standing on the whenua of Te Kawerau ā Maki, we’ve welcomed thousands of artists and audiences to connect, create, and celebrate Te Ao Whakaari.
As we turn the big 1-0 this April, we invite you to join us in marking this milestone in the best way possible—by helping us set the stage for an even bigger and bolder next decade!
OUR GOAL IS TO RAISE $10,000 BEFORE THURSDAY 10 APRIL
Between now and Thursday 10 April we’re running an online fundraising drive fuelled by a simple whakaaro, to ask our mates (you fullahs) to chuck us ten bucks in celebration of our 10th Birthday!
This fundraiser isn’t about a few people giving big donations, it’s about all the power of our community and mates to support our mahi.
We know we have the hugest whānau and if just 1,000 of our mates gave us a tenner, we’d smash our $10,000 goal (and potentially even more!) by the time we turn 10 years old.
Ahakoa he iti he pounamu.
So how’s about it? Wanna be a bro and give Te Pou Tekau?
Every dollar, every day, every mate makes a difference. Watch Tainui’s balloon fill with colour — and maybe even make him smile — as the numbers rise to celebrate our 10th Birthday and our next Decade of Te Pou.
We asked about about their favourite memory of Te Pou from the past 10 years.
Te Atamira Jennifer Ward Lealand
“My favourite memory of Te Pou is actually from the very first opening of Te Pou in New Lynn. Just walking into that room and seeing all of the beautiful images down the wall and what a beautiful warm feeling that the theatre had and knowing that it was just the start and the fact that it’s here now in this bigger space is just fabulous. So I’ll always hold that very dear to my heart.”
Nicola Kāwana
“Kōpū was one of my favourite memories at Te Pou. As a theatre show the shook all the bits and hit all the spots and so beautiful to the see the evolution of Māori Theatre with wahine Māori rising and telling the full story and not the narrative we’ve seen before. More of that please!”
Rawiri Paratene
“One of my favourite memories was doing my retirement show, Peter Paka Paratene. We ended up doing it in Wellington, at Parliament, my Marama was there too. I loved Hemo is Home, Te Rongopai is a good actor. It was a beautiful show.”
Ella Henry
“I have two actually, one was from when we were based in New Lynn, Astleys Tannery where my father used to work when I was a child, so that was delicious. You would be listening to someone doing a heart rending scene and then because there was a gym next door all you would hear is ‘and move that booty, move that booty, move that booty’ while people were trying to cry so I’m so glad that they have this wonderful place now, a wonderful home that is really just for Te Pou.
The second memory was again related to my childhood, because when I came to see The Handlers, that story was my Mothers story, so my Dad worked at the Tannery and my Mum worked at the potteries and I was part of the urban drift and so Te Pou represents the stories of my history.”
A huge mihi to our poster gal Bronwyn Turei and all our mates who came through to share stories, memories and take celebratory whakaahua with Julie Zhu! Make sure you follow us on socials to see all our cool pics as we roll out the campaign!
“Tekau for Te Pou” is our 10th birthday fundraising campaign. To celebrate 10 years of Te Pou, we’re asking our community to give $10, we’re keen to have as many mates as possible donate this amount. We know it’s a hard time for many people out there and there are lots of important kaupapa that need support. We want to make giving something that many people can take part in and where everyone is valued for their contribution – ahakoa he iti, he pounamu.
Te Pou isn’t just a theatre—it’s a home for Māori storytelling. Over the last 10 years, we’ve built a kaupapa-driven space where Māori artists, audiences, and whānau can connect, create, and celebrate te ao Māori.
Your support means:
We’re turning 10! Instead of a party with balloons and cake (though we do love cake), we’re inviting our whānau, friends, and supporters to help us shape the next 10 years of Te Pou by contributing $10 (or more!).
Every dollar goes towards keeping Te Pou thriving as a home for Māori theatre, artists, and audiences. Your support helps us to continue to:
Your support ensures Te Pou can continue to be a space where Māori artists, stories, and audiences come together.
If we’re lucky enough to reach our $10k goal—ka rawe! We’ll be absolutely stoked that we have that many mates that want to support us! But the truth is, any extra pūtea we receive will go straight back into our mahi—supporting artists, expanding our programmes, and keeping our whare thriving. $10k is our milestone, not a limit. If we go beyond it, even better for the next 10 years of Te Pou.
Of course! Send us an email at funding@tepoutheatre.nz and we’ll send you the details for a direct bank transfer.
Yes! While we’re asking for just $10 from 1,000 mates, some generous supporters have already chipped in $20, $50, or even $100+. If you feel inspired to give more, we’d love that. We’re open to supporters who want to make a bigger difference to talk to us about match donations or a one off larger contribution to help boost our goal. If you’re keen to discuss this, email us at fundraising@tepoutheatre.nz and we’d love to kōrero.
We’d love your help! Here’s how you can support beyond donating:
The more people who hear about “Tekau for Te Pou,” the faster we’ll reach our goal.
Yes! Te Pou is a registered charity, which means any donation over $5 is tax-deductible. If you donate before 31 March, you can claim it back this financial year. You will automatically receive a donation receipt to your email when you donate.
