Our Board

The chaotic good behind the curtain.

We met at art school — all of us graduating in 2017 with a Bachelor of Visual Arts. From there, we moved in different directions: across islands, into different mediums, institutions, communities, and forms of practice. But what held was the kaupapa, and the way we each carried art into our lives — not just as a career path, but as a way of thinking, resisting, and showing up.

Though we didn’t meet until art school, we all come from a tiny triangle in the north — Te Tai Tokerau. The whakapapa is likely there. If not by blood, then certainly by shared whenua, values, and ways of being. In many ways, this trust was always going to form — it was just a matter of time.

Provocation Station is held by the three of us: artists, organisers, and whānau in spirit (and probably in fact). We each bring different strengths, but what we share is a commitment to holding space — for artists, for kaupapa, for each other.

We don’t believe in hierarchies for the sake of it. Just roles that keep the kaupapa intact and the wheels turning.

  • Founder and Conceptual Ringleader
    Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Pākehā
    Based in Ōtautahi
    Pronouns: she/her, they/them (I’ll answer to bro/dude, just don’t call me a man)

    Artist, curator, writer, and emotional multitasker. Hayley founded Provocation Station as a way to hold space for practices (and people) that don’t fit the frame. Their work spans photography, community curation, and kaupapa-led disruption. They also do the spreadsheets.

  • Trustee, Artist, and Ceramics Cowboy
    Ngāti Whātua, Ngāpuhi
    Based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara
    Pronouns: TBC

    Jesse is a multidisciplinary artist working with clay, sound, installation, and storytelling. His practice is grounded in connection — to whenua, to whakapapa, and to form — often drawing on the deep memory held in materials and sites. A natural collaborator, he brings generosity, energy, and occasional chaos to any kaupapa. He’s also been known to turn a meeting into a movement. Clay dust and good ideas tend to follow him around.

  • Trustee, Artist, and Soft Power Strategist
    Ngāti Kuta, Ngāti Wai, Patukeha, Ngāpuhi
    Based in Ōtepoti
    Pronouns: TBC

    Nikita is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice is quiet, sharp, and full of knowing. She brings deep intuition, conceptual strength, and an unwavering commitment to sovereignty and softness. She’s the reason we remember to breathe between deadlines.