Jasmine Tuiā (Matautu and Gagaifo, Anoāma’a Falefā and Malifa Apia, Samoa; West Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand) was one of the participants in Tautai's Oceania Internship programme for 2021, which she carried out at Te Tuhi. While Tuiā's original plans to curate an exhibition at Parnell Project Space were hampered by the Covid-19 lockdown, Tuiā seized upon her internship as opportunity to produce a limited edition artists' book, Tālofa lava uō oe: I write letters, what do you do?
Written, edited and designed by Tuiā, the book is structured by written correspondence between Tuiā and six local artists during the lockdown in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. Tālofa lava uō oe compiles the letters, artworks and poems exchanged between Tuiā and her chosen artists during this period, charting the importance of communication and collaboration between a group of young artists in Tāmaki Makaurau.
Tuiā is a Sāmoan tapa maker and uses embroidery and stitching to think about Moana cultural memory. From the villages of Matautu Lefaga, Falefa Anoama'a and Malifa Sāmoa, Tuiā explores her familial connections to these places through Sāmoan techniques of storytelling and siapo. Her curatorial and community facilitation passions involve collective talanoa, or conversations, and community collaborations.