Kia Ora, Talofa Lava, my name is Paris.

I whakapapa to Ngāti Hauā, Ngāti Porou, Kai Tahu, Ngā Puhi, and Fale’ula village in Samoa.

I love connecting with people through our culture and storytelling. It’s a rare encounter and opportunity in our everyday way of living, so I really appreciate a space where I get to experience that regularly. Getting to be in the room with people who are experiencing Māori history, culture and tikanga for the first time is pretty special and even those familiar with it to some degree, watching them discover and learn more about it is really cool to witness. Also having access to the full authentic stories and histories of Te Whanganui-A-Tara has been a pretty amazing archive to dive into and increase my knowledge with.

I love all things arts and storytelling based. I’m a writer for Māori theatre and screenwriter for brown stories in general, while also working as a part time artist. Music, poetry, instruments and composition are major interests of mine, as well as reading. So pretty much any forms of storytelling I’m into and take up most, if not all, of my spare time. Last year I graduated from Te Kura Toi Whakaari o Aotearoa and have since been working part time as a writer and artist.