“We deliver an experience around cultural identity. You leave with a portrait obviously but it's more than that, you leave with a seed to figure out more about who you are”.

Sister-in-law duo, Taaniko (Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Te Wairoa, Rongomaiwahine, Waikato-Tainui) and Vienna Nordstrom (Ngāti Porou) create indigenous inspired vintage portraits.

Over nearly eight years as photographer (Vienna) and stylist (Taaniko), they have built such a strong reputation they are now struggling to meet demand. They want to expand their business and employ teams of wāhine Māori photographers and stylists across Aotearoa, and potentially other indigenous peoples too. They just need advice on how best to do that.

Nā tōu rourou, nā tāku rourou

“When we set this up we didn’t have any business background. So far we've cruised along and done our best. But we're at a point now, where we need expert advice” explains Vienna.

The company has joined forces with Wellington digi-tech companies VAKA and Psychoactive Studios through the Te Puni Kōkiri Cadetship programme. Weaving threads of mentor and mentee relationships, with companies and skillsets, each group is gaining new skills to advance both their career paths and their businesses. Watch this video about their cadetship collaboration. 

• Learn more about Psychoactive Studio’s basket of knowledge
• Learn more about VAKA’s basket of knowledge.

As Cadets, Vienna and Taaniko receive mentoring from the CE’s of each company. Jesse Armstrong from VAKA trains them in business strategy and preparing for expansion, while Andrew Hillstead oversees their web development and business imagery.   

“This Cadetship gives us an opportunity to collaborate with other like-minded people, especially Māori, which is something we haven't had before” smiles Vienna.

About the business

Taaniko and Vienna draw their inspiration from early New Zealand photography from the mid-late nineteenth century. They consider it an objectifying process that supplemented photographers incomes on the back of tīpuna Māori whose portraits were sold overseas to reinforce the colonial ‘noble savage’ image.  

“Today it’s important for Māori to be in the photography space because it's about reclaiming pride and mana in photography and in capturing our own image” Vienna urges.

Taaniko agrees, their process is about taking back Māori storytelling by Māori.

“By recreating these powerful images of Māori, especially as wāhine Māori, we are not only reclaiming the historically oppressive portrait process but we’re taking back our own image”.

The pair make each portrait sitting a positive, empowering experience for Māori to enjoy, as well as non-Māori. Now they want to share that experience even wider.

“Through expansion, we hope to give other wāhine Māori the opportunity to learn professionally and grow the way we have. With the ultimate dream of empowering all indigenous peoples to do the same with capturing their own imagery” Vienna adds.

Fast track to support the people  

Expanding Soldiers Rd Portraits will allow the owners the time and resources they need to focus on projects closest to their heart.

“We run a social initiative in Waikeria prison, using our portrait experience to empower the people who really need it; people struggling with who they are, their identity and where they're going. Our goal is to be able to do all that mahi in prisons but fund it ourselves. Without this Cadetship we couldn’t do that.”

Taaniko and Vienna agree the Cadetship has been a ‘life saver’ after the grinding halt that COVID-19 brought to the economy. Their dream is to be self-sufficient and business savvy enough to give back to te ao Māori every working day. The Cadetship will equip them to do so.

“To be able to hit the ground up and running again is so big. It means we have the support to fast track and really get on with focusing on our goals right now” says Taaniko.

 

Information media and telecommunications is just one of the industries that is forecast for growth post COVID-19, that is why it is a focus for Te Puni Kōkiri. Cadetships are flexible enough to include people of all ages working in a range of industries including services in science, water, finance and the professions as well as health care, manufacturing and transport. 

To find out more about Cadetships  contact your nearest Te Puni Kōkiri office.

Photo caption: Sister-in-law duo, Vienna (left) and (right) Taaniko Nordstrom create indigenous inspired vintage portraits through their company Soldiers Rd.