Chloe Weavers of Ngāpuhi is the newest Executive Director at Silo Theatre in Tāmaki Makaurau and the first Māori to hold the position.
Weavers is taking over the role from Jessica Smith at the end of October, who has decided to pursue new opportunities after more than 11 years of providing executive leadership to one of the country's most cutting-edge theatre producers.
“I am really energised to carry on the mahi paved by Jess,” Weavers says.
“I feel privileged to work with the incredible team at Silo and alongside [artistic director] Sophie [Roberts] as we deliver bold and ambitious projects that reach audiences across the motu in new and unexpected ways.”
Having worked in the theatre space for over a decade, Weavers says she has seen a massive increase in the development of the Māori performing arts sector.
"We've got Kia Mau Festival, we've got Te Tairawhiti Arts Festival, I feel like we have a lot of Māori in leadership now which is really good, and we have a lot of our work on mainstream stages now."
Despite beginning her tenure in lockdown, Weavers says she is excited to collaborate with the arts community of Tāmaki Makaurau and Aotearoa, having worked in Australia for the past 10 years.
"It's funny because I started at Te Pou [Theatre] at the beginning of the year in lockdown and now I'm starting with Silo in lockdown too.
“These challenges present an exciting opportunity to re-think, re-model and re-position how we work and why we do what we do and for whom,” she says.