GRACE TAYLOR
Grace Taylor is a creative force to be reckoned with; a leading light in the Rising Voices spoken word poetry movement, recipient of the 2014 Creative New Zealand Arts Pasifika Awards Emerging Pacific Artist and a passionate advocate for the rights of young people. Grace made her directorial debut last year with the moving and unflinching SKIN for Auckland Theatre Company's Youth Arts season at Basement Theatre and in MY OWN DARLING she brings her heart and soul to the stage inviting audiences to join her on an intimate journey through the social landscape of Auckland. A powerful and inspiring new work by the freshest new voice in New Zealand poetry.
In 2016 Grace will travel
to Guam as part of the
Aotearoa Delegation to
the 12th Pacific Arts
Festival. She will collaborate
with and accompany spoken word artist and dancer Jahra Rager.
Read a Metro Magazine article about Grace Taylor here.
When did you realise the power of words?
My training is in youth work. When I was 22, I was asked to present at a conference on Pacific Youth Health Development. I was very nervous because there were a lot of staunchly Pacific people there and I was still grappling with my mixed-race identity. I read out my first spoken word poetry piece, Being Afakasi. People cried and stood up and started telling their stories. It was really powerful. I've performed that poem many times over the years and seen it transcend race and ethnicity. A lot of people who identify with it are not even half-caste or full-blooded Samoans, they're Palagi people who tell me "I get it. I've had a similar experience". Everyone's had that feeling of being out of place and not belonging.
- TWELVE QUESTIONS: GRACE TAYLOR in the NZHerald talking about MY OWN DARLING.