Tanya Muagututi'a

Tanya Muagututi'a (right) with long time collaborator Erolia Ifopo in 1994

Tanya Muagututi'a MNZM is a New Zealand playwright and arts festival director.[1][2]

Biography

Muagututi'a's father, Muagututi'a Pulusila Meafou Sagapolutele, was Samoan and moved to New Zealand in the early 1950s, aged 11, to attend school.[1]

She co-founded Pacific Underground, a performing arts organisation for Pacific artists, in Christchurch in 1993.[3][4]

In 2020, Muagututi'a won Best Play by Pasifika Playwright at the Adam New Zealand Play Awards for her script Scholars, which is based on her father's experiences as a Samoan scholarship student in New Zealand.[1]

Recognition

In the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours, Muagututi'a was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to Pacific performing arts.[5]

Personal life

Muagututi'a is married to Posenai Mavaega, who co-founded Pacific Underground with her.[4][5]

References

1. "Pasifika playwright winner in Adam NZ Play Awards 2020". RNZ. 1 April 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
2. "Tanya Muagututi'a". The Court Theatre. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
3. "Tanya Muagututi'a". FREE THEATRE CHRISTCHURCH. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
4. "Pacific Underground". RNZ. 9 June 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
5. "Queen's Birthday honours: Pacific recognised". RNZ News. 7 June 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2021.