Meet the 2023 Ockham Collective

We've been drip-feeding introductions over the last couple of months but now it's finally time for us to announce the full line up for the 2023 Ockham Collective. And with a list that includes an Emmy winner, an Arts Laureate and the co-director of only the second-ever feature film to have been helmed by Pasifika women, it's already shaping up to be an exceptional year.

Here are this year's Ockham Collective:

Louise Evans – Louise is a fiddle player with a passion for Irish music. Her fortnightly Tuesday Irish Sessions at The Nix are already in full flight (all welcome).

Ben Fernandez (pictured foreground) – Jazz pianist, composer, arranger and author, Ben has played for All Blacks, Hollywood A-listers at the Cannes Film Festival, and visiting heads of state as our Governor General's go-to pianist.

Tim Heath – Poet, author of popular memoir The Accidental Teacher, and retired school principal, Tim has kickstarted a weekly Poetry for Pensioners group at The Nix.

Jessie Leov – Jessie is a composer, songwriter and musician whose work has been commissioned, performed or workshopped by the likes of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Auckland Chamber Choir and Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra.

James Littlewood – James is a director, producer and writer with over 25 years' experience in theatre, film, opera and festivals. He's also the director of Going West, the longest running indie literary festival in Aotearoa.

Marina Alofagia McCartney – An award-winning filmmaker and academic, Marina wrote and directed the Samoan piece for the portmanteau film Vai, which opened the NATIVe section at the 2019 Berlinale.

Paula Morris – We're delighted to welcome back award-winning novelist, Arts Laureate and academic Paula Morris (Ngāti Wai, Ngāti Whātua, Ngāti Manuhiri) to the Ockham Collective for a second year. Her literary salons at The Nix are as entertaining as they are intellectually stimulating, and she's about to host small-group writing classes at our venues (email Paula for details).

Dan Musgrove – You might recognise Dan as Underbelly's Mr Asia or Westside's Lefty Monroe. This talented actor, playwright and screenwriter comes to us hot off an International Emmy win for short-form thriller INSiDE.

Marion Prebble – An actor, writer and producer, Marion hosts a series of regular scene workshops for actors and directors at The Nix called The Sandbox.

Martin Roberts – Martin is a sought-after teacher and cellist, performing in the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, Bach Musica and as part of his own string quartet, the Arcus Quartet, alongside with his wife and 2022 Ockham Collective creative Joella Pinto. You can catch him playing with two other ensembles this month, the Auckland Chamber Music Collective and Ensemble Eight.

Paul Woodruffe – Paul is a visual artist and multi-disciplinary designer who is the senior lecturer in creative industries at Unitec. He's also a board member of Awhina Mai Tatou Katoa Trust, a Toi Māori organisation working with people who have experienced homelessness and incarceration in the Auckland CBD.

I'm sure you'll agree, they're an impressive bunch. Click on their names for more information about each of them and what they've got planned for their Ockham Collective year.