MOA - Māpura Online Artists

Background  

Following the success of its online classes held during lockdown last year, Māpura Studios has extended its creative programmes throughout New Zealand with MOA (Māpura Online Artists). 

When the country went into Alert Level 4 lockdown in 2020, Māpura acted quickly to come up with new ways of reaching its community of disabled artists, and continue to support them and their well-being through online creative arts programmes.  

Funding from the Ministry of Social Development has allowed Māpura Studios to further develop its online creative programmes to build a creative community of artists with disabilities across the country.  

The MOA programmes are hosted by Māpura tutors on Zoom, delivering creative classes to diverse communities and individuals, no matter where they live in Aotearoa New Zealand. 

Changing Lives 

“Māpura’s kaupapa is ‘changing lives through creativity’ and this is what we’ll be able to share with others and build a wider community of disabled artists, thanks to the Ministry’s funding,” said Diana McPherson, Director, Māpura Studios.  

“One of the things that really stood out for us during lockdown was how important it was for artists who are among New Zealand’s most vulnerable, to be able to stay connected with each other and Māpura staff. Rolling out our online programme to other parts of New Zealand allows us to provide maximum opportunities to artists to connect with others in similar situations.”   

Progress 

The first MOA programme launched in May, for the Deaf community. This was quickly followed by a visual arts programme and a stroke programme, with more programmes being added all the time. The latest level 4 lockdown, with its associated stresses and strains, has prompted the creation of new programmes in response, including an anxiety programme for young adults and two location specific programmes answering various specialised needs in the community. 

All MOA programmes are free for the participants and run for 10 weeks, generally. Māpura Studios also provides the students with free art materials, delivered to the doorstep. If any participants need a device in order to do a programme, the MSD funding allows Māpura to provide them with a tablet, free for the duration of the course, as well as internet access for remote areas. 

Enriching lives 

“We are delighted to be able to extend our programme and help enrich the lives of people with disabilities around New Zealand through the creative arts process,” Diana McPherson said.