CommunityWalking Together
Our Practitioners
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Tō Tātou
Based in Rarotonga, Cook Islands, Ivon and Pania Lee are a creative partnership. Ivon is of Aitutakian, Chinese and New Zealand Māori descent, and Pania is of New Zealand Māori, English, Mangaian and Mauke descent. While their surroundings influence their art, it is their character and values that define their practice.
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Karen Bevan
Karen Bevan wouldn’t necessarily call herself an artist, but creativity runs in her veins. A grandmother to her mokopuna and a loyal friend to many, Karen has, in just five years, embraced carving, painting, sewing, and crafting, quickly making a name for herself in the Rarotonga arts community.
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Oliver Oolders
Oliver “Olly” Oolders is a Cook Islands/New Zealand navigator and carver whose work reflects a deep connection to culture, ancestry, and the ocean. Trained initially by Mike Tavioni and refined with guidance from Henry Tavioni, Olly approaches carving with patience, intention, care and respect.
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Morgan Hogg
Working across installation, performance and video, artist and creative producer Morgan Hogg explores themes of cultural displacement, belonging, and intergenerational knowledge, often drawing from oral histories and lived experience within her Kūki ‘Airani heritage.
Taunga, Mentor & Co-Founder
Henry Wichman Tavioni is a Cook Islander of Atiuan, Mangaian, Tahitian, English, Irish and German descent. Henry is a carver, artist, craftsman and cultural knowledge holder based in Rarotonga. At a young 70 years of age, he continues to dedicate his life to the preservation and practice of Cook Islands Māori culture.
Henry Wichman Tavioni
Executive Board
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Gina Tavioni Bamber
Chair & Co-Founder
Gina Tavioni Bamber is a Cook Islands cultural advocate working across coordination, human resources, people development, and organisational systems in business, education, and community settings. She supports clarity, purpose, and confidence in people and processes. She uses arts and cultural expression for learning and connection, including facilitating the 2026 Peu Ora’anga Cook Islands Arts paper at USP Cook Islands.
Gina’s approach to professional and creative contexts is centred on connecting people, strengthening relationships, and creating shared purpose. Through Te Toki Tupuna, she supports collaboration and cultural empowerment.
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Glenda Tuaine
Vice Chair
Glenda Tuaine is an event producer, arts promoter and the Director of Motone Productions.
In 2019, she received the Creative New Zealand Special Recognition Arts Pasifika Award. She produces tours, opera events and directed an award winning film on Cook Islands artist Mike Tavioni. She leads creative projects across the region including running Kuki Creative, a youth initiative supporting emerging creatives.
Glenda also works in volunteer mentorship roles with the belief that the right ecosystem allows the creative economy to flourish.
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Jacinda Staufer
Secretary
Jacinda, alongside her husband Franz, co-owns and manages an accommodation business in Rarotonga. Together they run whatcanidoinrarotonga.com, a platform promoting local businesses and community initiatives at no cost. She also designs websites and supports community members with online promotion, using creative strategies to build meaningful connections. Jacinda brings a strong background in administration, coordination, business and operations management to her Executive role.
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Shaun Bamber
Treasurer
Shaun is a New Zealand Māori–Pākehā with iwi links to Ngāti Kahu, Te Aupōuri, and Ngāti Kuri. He moved to Rarotonga in 2018 with his wife Gina and their children. With a journalism background at TV Guide and Fairfax Media, he has written on entertainment and culture. His poetry appears in Landfall magazine, and he holds a Bachelor of Management Studies (Hons) in Marketing and Media Studies from the University of Waikato.
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Tereora Crane
Executive Member
Tereora has spent 30 years in the education and heritage sectors in Aotearoa and is currently a Senior Education Specialist with the National Library of New Zealand.
His specialist areas include New Zealand and Pacific history, Te Ao Māori and Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Tereora is an engaging storyteller and creative developer passionate about helping young people value their cultural heritage and become change-makers, while using the arts to connect and inspire communities.
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Kimi Napa
Executive Member
Kimi Napa is a career educator with a background in the creative arts and a passion for community empowerment through education, creativity, and equity-driven initiatives. Her experience includes serving as Arts Advisor in the Cook Islands and completing a Master’s in Change and Organisational Resilience, specialising in Educational Leadership.
She was the curriculum developer for Peu Ora’anga, a Cook Islands arts paper within the Certificate of Cook Islands Studies at the University of the South Pacific’s Cook Islands Campus - the first programme of its kind in the world. Kimi is passionate about strengthening cultural identity, intergenerational learning, and community connection.