Rosanna Raymond, Creative Director

Rosanna Raymond was born in Auckland New Zealand of Samoan decent and currently lives and works in London with her family. A ‘Tusitala’ (a teller of tales) at heart her art practice takes a variety of forms ranging from installation works, spoken words and body adornment, fusing traditional pacific practises with modern innovations and techniques.

The driving force behind what is now known as Style Pasifika, New Zealand’s first ever Pacific Fashion spectacular and a member of the infamous arts collective Pacific Sisters, Raymond has been involved with Pacific fashion, art and culture for the past 20 years, with her own costuming and art works collected by museums in NZ, Australia, Germany, USA, and the UK.

Raymond has undertaken art residencies at the De Young Museum San Francisco, University of Hawaii Manoa and the Cambridge University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology UK, where she curated the internationally acclaimed Pasifika Styles exhibition with Dr Amiria Salmond. Last years highlights included Raymond travelling to New Zealand as part of British Councils People in your Neighbourhood project to direct the Pacific Sisters reunion show Eyekonik for the Pacific Arts Summit, producing and directing Matariki Ki Tua -a celebration of Polynesian live arts at Rich Mix in London for the Origins Festival, with her visual art and performance featuring in exhibitions in London, Paris, Sydney.

Photo courtesy of Kerry Brown.