Executive Producer / Production Design & Management / A&R / CreativeThe Tika Gala
A national cultural platform for justice, funding and systemic change
Thursday, 29 April 2027
New Zealand International Convention Centre, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland
Central Creative Idea
From Portrait to Whare to National Stage
The audience begins by seeing the people of Aotearoa’s cultural community represented at monumental scale.
They then move into an intimate, contemporary interpretation of a whare… a held space for gathering, witnessing and commitment.
Finally, the architecture opens and the audience discovers a fully formed stage occupied by the Auckland Philharmonia.
The creative progression is therefore:
We see ourselves.
We gather beneath one roof.
We raise a collective voice.
CHAPTER ONE — ARRIVAL
“Good evening, and welcome to The Tika Gala. Around us are the faces of artists, leaders and guests choosing to stand visibly for a safer future. Tonight, we become part of a shared portrait—not as spectators, but as participants in a collective act of responsibility, hope and change.”
CHAPTER TWO — WITNESS
Title
The Whare
Creative Purpose
The Gala Dinner is the moral and architectural centre of the evening.
The room is inspired by the idea of a whare: a gathering place, a protective structure and a space in which people come together under one roof.
This should not be treated as a literal scenic reproduction.
Instead, the design draws from the principles of:
shelter;
gathering;
collective presence;
ancestry;
intimacy;
relationship between floor, wall and roof;
the sense of being held within a shared structure.
The interpretation and use of cultural concepts, Atua and visual language must be developed with Kereama Taepa and appropriate tikanga and cultural guidance.
CHAPTER THREE — RELEASE
Title
The Collective Voice
The final chapter expands from the intimacy of the whare into a national concert and broadcast environment.
The Auckland Philharmonia performs specially commissioned orchestral arrangements of New Zealand music. The reference concept positions this as a one-night-only programme combining symphonic performance with contemporary artists and cinematic scale.
Featured Artists
Auckland Philharmonia;
Tiki Taane
Tali;
Hollie Smith;
Boh Runga;
Jon Toogood;
Theia;
Kapa Haka ensemble;
additional collaborative artists to be confirmed.
The site reference also proposes an Auckland Philharmonia collaboration with Tiki Taane and Tali, combining orchestral performance with dub, drum and bass and soulful vocal elements.
TIKA GALA
A national gathering for justice, support and collective action
The Tika Gala is being developed as a cultural and philanthropic event designed to build awareness, participation and long-term support around Tika’s work.
Rather than approaching the event as a conventional charity dinner, the experience is structured around a clear participant journey: guests discover the kaupapa, enter a carefully designed environment, engage with stories and ideas, participate through giving and partnership, and leave with an ongoing relationship to the cause.
The creative and production approach is intentionally restrained and respectful. Lighting, sound, moving image, performance and hospitality support the purpose of the evening without overwhelming it.
Commercially, the model considers production underwriting, sponsorship, philanthropy, hospitality and long-term partnerships, with a focus on creating a meaningful charitable surplus rather than relying on ticket sales alone.
The result is a gala designed not simply as a fundraising night, but as a platform for connection, visibility and continued action.
The Tika Gala
A national cultural platform for justice, funding and systemic change
Thursday, 29 April 2027
New Zealand International Convention Centre, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland
The Tika Gala is a nationally significant cultural and philanthropic event created to strengthen the infrastructure that enables people affected by sexual harm to access support, legal pathways, accountability and justice.
It is not a conventional charity dinner.
It is not simply a concert.
It is a funding platform expressed through culture.
Bringing together philanthropy, business, artists, advocacy, live performance and national broadcast, the Gala is designed to build sustainable support for Tika and create a visible, collective commitment to change.
The Challenge
Tika exists to provide confidential, independent pathways for people affected by sexual harm to seek support and legal guidance.
The challenge for the Gala was therefore larger than creating a successful fundraising event.
It needed to:
generate meaningful and sustainable funding;
increase national understanding of Tika;
create a credible way for businesses, philanthropists and cultural leaders to participate;
reflect Tika’s values of privacy, dignity and survivor agency;
avoid conventional fundraising tropes and exploitative storytelling;
extend its impact far beyond the people attending on the night.
The result is a model designed around a simple principle:
Underwrite production first. Generate charitable surplus second.
The Idea
The Tika Gala is conceived as a structural intervention wrapped in culture.
The live event brings together approximately 1,200 guests at the New Zealand International Convention Centre, while a national broadcast extends participation far beyond the room.
The experience moves participants from awareness to understanding, and from understanding to action.
Rather than asking only:
What will you donate tonight?
the Gala asks a larger question:
What role can you play in sustaining this work?
That shift transforms attendance from passive support into long-term participation.
The Experience
The participant journey begins before the event and continues long after it.
Discover
Invitations, partner communications and digital storytelling establish Tika’s purpose and why the gathering matters.
Enter
Arrival at the NZICC creates an immediate shift in tone through hospitality, spatial design, light, sound and content.
Explore
Participants encounter Tika’s work through carefully designed physical and digital touchpoints, creative works and contextual storytelling.
Engage
Guests are invited to participate through philanthropy, corporate support, underwriting, professional expertise, advocacy and long-term partnerships.
Transform
The programme reinforces Tika’s central idea:
Strength in Numbers.
Individual participation becomes collective action.
Release
The live experience culminates in a major cultural moment combining performance, music, image, light and broadcast.
Continue
The Gala becomes the beginning of an ongoing relationship through philanthropy, advocacy, partnerships, future events, content and impact reporting.
The Creative Approach
The Gala is designed to feel contemporary, disciplined and distinctly grounded in Aotearoa.
The subject matter requires care.
The creative direction therefore avoids sensationalism, trauma-as-entertainment and spectacle for spectacle’s sake.
Instead, the experience is built around:
dignity strength visibility agency collective action accountability justice hope
Music, art, photography, moving image, digital work, architecture, lighting and performance all contribute to the experience.
Every element must have a reason for being there.
The entertainment supports the kaupapa.
It does not overwhelm it.
A Funding Mechanism First
The Gala’s commercial model has been structured to maximise charitable impact.
Production is intended to be underwritten before public fundraising begins, reducing reliance on ticket income and donations to cover the cost of staging the event.
The current model combines three primary funding pillars:
Underwriting and Strategic Partnerships
Principal and strategic partners help secure the production and operating base before the event.
Corporate Hospitality
Approximately 120 corporate tables at $10,000 each create a significant premium participation and fundraising channel.
Broadcast and Public Giving
A national television and digital programme expands participation beyond the 1,200 people in the room through pledges, donations and broader public engagement.
This creates a diversified funding architecture combining institutional support, corporate participation and public philanthropy.
Broadcast as Part of the Experience
The Gala has been designed from inception as a broadcast-integrated production.
It is not an event that is subsequently adapted for television.
The current model includes approximately six hours of live event activity and a curated two-hour national programme supported by multi-camera production, dedicated broadcast audio, documentary material, graphics, pledge integration and digital distribution.
The objective is not simply to show the Gala.
It is to explain why the Gala exists.
Broadcast turns a 1,200-person room into a national participation platform.
Safeguarding by Design
The project requires a substantially higher duty of care than a conventional gala.
Safeguarding, consent, privacy and survivor agency must therefore be embedded throughout the experience.
This includes:
informed consent;
respectful language;
privacy and confidentiality;
careful photography and recording protocols;
appropriate support pathways;
safeguarding for speakers and contributors;
cultural integrity;
accessibility;
separation between storytelling and pressure to donate.
The Gala does not rely on individual experiences of harm as entertainment or fundraising collateral.
Its focus is structural.
The aim is to demonstrate how stronger systems, collective participation and sustained funding can create meaningful change.
Governance and Transparency
The Gala is designed around clear financial and governance principles.
Revenue, operating costs, in-kind support and charitable surplus are separated and reported transparently.
The operating model protects Tika’s role as event owner and charitable beneficiary while enabling specialist production, commercial and broadcast partners to deliver the event through clearly defined responsibilities.
Transparency is not an afterthought.
It is part of the architecture.
Measuring Success
Success is measured beyond attendance.
The Gala is designed to generate:
Impact
Charitable surplus, multi-year commitments and new philanthropic relationships.
Reach
National broadcast, media visibility, digital engagement and increased awareness of Tika.
Participation
New organisational partners, professional support, advocacy and public giving.
Experience
Strong participant understanding, accessibility, safeguarding and cultural integrity.
Continuation
Ongoing funding, retained partners and relationships that continue beyond the event itself.
The Outcome
The Tika Gala is designed to become more than an annual fundraising event.
It is a platform where culture, business, philanthropy, advocacy and collective action meet around the pursuit of justice.
The evening provides the gathering point.
The funding architecture gives it consequence.
The governance gives it credibility.
The broadcast gives it national reach.
And the relationships built around it determine what continues afterwards.
The Tika Gala
For Justice.
Strength in Numbers.
Not rebranding the industry — repairing it.
