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Betty Bathgate and Mini Howie, from Nelson’s Indonesian community, serve food at the Multicultural Festival at Founders Park earlier this year. (File photo)
A pop-up market is offering migrants and former refugees a chance to share their culture with the Nelson-Tasman community.
Shared Communities cultural navigator Karolina Serrano said the Multicultural Market on December 17 will offer a diverse array of traditional handicrafts, food and performances.
“It’s a good opportunity for people who want to share part of their culture with the wider community; the things that are important to them,” Serrano said.
Shared Communities is an initiative that aims to break down barriers migrants and former refugees have to participate in the arts, culture and heritage sector.
“It’s an opportunity for people who normally don’t have that space to be seen,” Serrano said.
Markets can be inaccessible, usually requiring a regular commitment, money, and equipment.
The Multicultural Market is free, and you don’t need a gazebo: you can borrow a table – or just spread a cloth on the ground to display your wares, she said.
Martin De Ruyter/Stuff
Nelson’s diverse communities will showcase their art and culture at the Multicultural Market. (File photo)
“We want to make it easier for the communities to share their traditional art or craft or performance, dancing, music in their mother tongue.”
She hoped the venture would encourage stallholders to look for other opportunities: to start a business, or to launch a regular stall.
“Sometimes you just need that little push,” she said.
Last year, the group, which includes Multicultural Nelson Tasman, the council and Make/Shift Spaces, commissioned a report that explored Whakatu’s diverse communities, and looked at how to serve them.
The market, which builds connections and highlights the arts and culture, is one of the many initiatives that have grown from the publication of that report, said Serrano.
More than 20 people had signed up for the market, and registrations were still rolling in, she said.
She hoped the market would be popular with Christmas shoppers.
“If it works, we can explore the possibility of making it regular.”
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The Multicultural Market will be held at 23 Halifax St, beside Elma Turner Library on Sunday, December 17, 4pm to 8pm.