Creative Writing Workshops
Guided by kaupapa of manaakitanga and whakawhanaungatanga, we aim to nurture each voice in ara poutama facilities, and in community spaces. Through shared words and deep listening, these hui ignite creativity, strengthen confidence, and weave connections to our stories, our people, and this whenua.
Community and corrections facilitation
Our team of facilitators include experienced artists, published writers and award-winning creative practitioners. We develop each programme in collaboration with the nuances of the space we enter. This looks like pulling from our toolkit of stories, exercises, prompts, and ways of seeing/being to design workshops with the diverse cultural backgrounds, languages, accessibility and learning needs of the space in mind.
Our workshops are fun, engaging, and nurturing spaces for rangatahi. We hope to show how creative writing can be a tool for self-expression, passing on the gifts we’ve received from our journey in the creative arts.
workshop structure
Typically running for about two hours, participating rangatahi engage in our programme through writing prompts, storytelling exercises, group sharing, and other activities to help get the creative juices flowing.
“It was truly wonderful having you in our whare; the workshop was incredibly impactful, and we received only amazing feedback!"
“Getting me to express myself again, which I'm very hesitant on doing, and reminding me I'm in control of what I share and don't.”
Feedback from rangatahi
“Thank you, Te Kāhui for sharing with me. Making me feel good again. No one is perfect, so don’t judge me. I have learnt to make better choices, to let go of the past. There’s still time for me to change.”
“It really gave me a positive view on creative writing and how your own imagination can take you to a happy place even here in prison. Thanks again :)”
“Watching Exercise One evolve into a poem I read Page 4 thinking ‘what the hell... this doesn’t make sense!’ But when I got there, WOW! Thank you for giving me the [opportunity] to do this.”
“Loved the mythology poems and the ‘no one knows me like’ exercise.” “Today I enjoyed my work, it was a new way of learning.”
Q: How do you feel at the end of the session? A: “Thinker, mindful, creator, imaginer, builder, expressive.”
“I enjoyed how we all said one word to make a story.” “I loved how I could be as creative as I liked.” “I enjoyed sharing truths.” “We all worked together. Fun. Laughing.”
benefits of participation
- Creative expression – finding one’s own voice, exploring identity.
- Healing & empowerment – building confidence, processing experiences.
- Whanaungatanga – strengthening connections through shared stories.
- Skill-building – writing techniques, communication, literacy.
“[I] enjoyed writing haiku. Enjoyed the teachers helping us.”
