Stephen Hahn
Co-chair
Meet the team
Font has attracted a formidable group of accomplished, honest, reliable locals with a commitment to grow employment, education, and social opportunities for Tauranga.
Stephen Hahn
Co-chair
Stephen moved to Tauranga Moana a decade ago to be closer to family and launch his thriving Authentic Pilates studio, The Pilates Loft. The business is located on Devonport Rd and Stephen also lives in the inner city, which means he has a particularly keen interest in the success of the current redevelopment of Tauranga city centre.
Stephen maintains links with his former careers in media research and funding through a role as a grant assessor for the Australian Community Broadcasting Foundation and as a graduate of the Fundraising Institute of Australia. He has also held a number of governance roles in business, the environment, and social services. This unique combination of skills is in high demand in his role driving the team behind Font towards our goal of commissioning, fundraising for, and gifting a decade of significant artworks to Tauranga Moana.
Vanessa Hamm
Co-chair
Vanessa Hamm
Co-chair
Vanessa Hamm is a partner at Holland Beckett Law, where she has been a specialist resource management and environment lawyer since 2004. She represents clients, across a range of industry sectors, who are seeking resource consents for development activities. Beyond work, Vanessa is also the Chair of Waipuna Hospice Incorporated, an enthusiastic collector of New Zealand art, and a parent to three teenage children and one particularly huge dog.
Vanessa’s networks, governance experience, legal mind, and ability to juggle a demanding workload are being used to great effect as Font sets its sights on a bright public art future for Tauranga Moana.
Alice Scapens
Treasurer, Finance Committee Chair
Alice Scapens
Treasurer, Finance Committee Chair
Alice Scapens is a Director with Tauranga accountancy firm Ingham Mora, where she has worked since 2014. Alice’s specialties are Xero, tax planning, business advisory and cashflow & budgeting, but she provides the full suite of chartered accountancy skills in helping clients achieve their goals – whether that’s rapid growth or more time at the beach. Alice is helping Font establish solid finance policies and processes for the exciting work ahead, and will ensure best practice in every aspect of Font’s financial dealings.
As mums of two young children, Alice and her wife Tracy don’t exactly get much “spare time”, but when they do, Alice can easily be lured out to sea in search of that elusive next big fish.
Lisa Denyer
Commissioning Committee Chair
Lisa Denyer
Commissioning Committee Chair
Retired lawyer Lisa Denyer developed a number of specialties, including charities law, across a 23-year career working in Australia, the Netherlands, and Aotearoa New Zealand. She was the lead advisor (banking side) for the establishment of Kiwibank, and after 13 years as a senior associate with Cooney Lees Morgan, Lisa retains a warm association with the notable Tauranga firm. Lisa has a deep love of the arts and has visited and been inspired by many exceptional public art instalments across Asia, Europe, the United States, and in her native Australia.
Jo Bond
Commissioning Committee
Jo Bond
Commissioning Committee
Jo Bond is one of the most accomplished names in festival and event management in Tauranga Moana. Throughout a career devoted to bringing creative excellence to New Zealand communities, she has led the Tauranga Arts Festival and held key roles in live music festivals, performing arts programming, and large-scale civic events. Jo has extensive networks across the creative industries and highly-valued experience in successful commissioning and delivery of artworks.
Ciska Vogelzang
Commissioning Committee, Finance Committee
Ciska Vogelzang
Commissioning Committee, Finance Committee
Ciska Vogelzang is a human development specialist. She works predominantly in executive and career coaching, as well as facilitation and training design. Ciska is also vastly experienced in project management; a skillset which she has used to great effect in developing innovations for her clients. Over the years, Ciska has held numerous governance and patron roles in social service, arts, and human resources in Tauranga Moana. She is a current trustee of our valued ally, Tauranga Art Gallery, and inspires us all with vast photoshoots of public art across Europe whenever she travels back to her homeland of the Netherlands.
Keri Welham
Resourcing Committee Chair
Keri Welham
Resourcing Committee Chair
Keri Welham (Ngāti Piako, Ngāti Ranginui) founded Tauranga-based content creation agency All the Words in 2008, drawing on skills built during an award-winning journalism career in Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia. Keri leads a stable of writers, editors, podcasters, social media experts, and visual storytellers who help organisations communicate their unique offerings and perspectives. Keri is a member of Tauranga’s Toi Ataata art syndicate, which focuses on emerging and mid-career New Zealand artists.
Antoine Coffin
Resourcing Committee – Relationships Lead
Antoine Coffin
Resourcing Committee – Relationships Lead
Antoine Coffin (Ngai Te Rangi, Ngāti Ranginui, Raukawa, Ngāpuhi) is a specialist in resource management, cultural heritage planning, community engagement and facilitation. Antoine is an RMA Commissioner, Freshwater Commissioner, and manager of spatial planning in the Bay of Plenty. A former member of the Māori Council of Heritage New Zealand and co-chair of the Indigenous section of the International Association for Impact Assessment, he has been a key advisor to the Department of Internal Affairs, Ministry for Culture and Heritage, Ministry for the Environment, Department of Corrections, Melbourne Museum, and a number of local councils on key strategic and multi-disciplinary projects and decision-making processes. Alongside his Māori heritage, Antoine also celebrates his descendancy from French and American settlers in New Zealand. His favourite public art is the Kahu Pokere in Auckland Domain by Fred Graham.
Ngairo Eruera
Resourcing Committee – Ngai Tamarawaho Representative
Ngairo Eruera
Resourcing Committee – Ngai Tamarawaho Representative
A product of Tauranga Moana, Ngairo draws his heritage (Ngāti Ranginui) and upbringing from the vibrant heart of the city and its surrounding region. With a background as a secondary teacher, he has woven his journey into academia, currently serving as a dedicated lecturer at The University of Waikato Tauranga Campus. His commitment extends beyond the lecture rooms, as he actively contributes to te reo Māori revitalisation initiatives throughout Tauranga and the Bay of Plenty. Ngairo has held positions on school boards in both Hamilton and Tauranga.
Joining our trust with enthusiasm, Ngairo brings to the table extensive experience in formal education. Rooted in his Ngāti Ranginui legacy, he holds a deep desire to amplify the local Māori voice within the arts landscape. Passionate about nurturing emerging talent, particularly within the Māori performing arts domain, he aspires to create platforms that foster growth and connection and will help Font cultivate creativity, honour heritage, and foster a diverse artistic community.
Liz Cooper
Project Manager
Liz Cooper
Project Manager
Liz Cooper is a curator, writer and consultant who has worked with many artists and makers and with not for profit and commercial visual arts and events organisations in the UK, Ireland, and Aotearoa New Zealand. At the heart of her work is the creation of stimulating and thought-provoking exhibitions and events, exploring ideas through skilled makers who engage with complex processes and challenging materials.
Since 2013 Liz has led strategy and development for Design-Nation, a UK portfolio of contemporary designers and craftspeople. Previously she worked with Smiths Row, Studio Voltaire and Contemporary Art Society in London. Recent project partners have included University of Waikato, Design & Crafts Council Ireland, 62 Group of Textile Artists, MAC Birmingham and The Hub – National Centre for Craft & Design (UK). Liz has an honours degree from Goldsmiths College London. After a long spell in the UK she returned to Aotearoa in 2019 to live in Tauranga.
Serena Bentley
Curatorial Adviser
Serena Bentley
Curatorial Adviser
Serena Bentley is a curator and art writer with over fifteen years’ experience working across the institutional, commercial and non-profit arts sectors in Aotearoa and Australia. She is currently Senior Curator and Exhibitions Manager at Tauranga Art Gallery Toi Tauranga.
Karl Chitham
Curatorial Adviser
Karl Chitham
Curatorial Adviser
Karl Chitham is currently director of The Dowse Art Museum, and Head of Arts and Culture at Hutt City Council. Karl was previously Director and Curator of Tauranga Art Gallery. Karl is a curatorial advisor to the Wellington Sculpture Trust and has been involved with MESH (Hamilton Sculpture Trust) and the Nelson Sculpture Trust. He has held curatorial roles at various institutions in Aotearoa and is currently a trustee of Wairau Māori Art Gallery.
Julie Paama-Pengelly
Curatorial Adviser
Julie Paama-Pengelly
Curatorial Adviser
Julie Paama-Pengelly is a New Zealand tā moko artist, painter, commentator and curator. Julie is of Māori (Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāi Tūwhiwhia, Ngāi Tauaiti and Ngātii Tapu) descent. Her art practice includes paintings, printmaking, installation, and tā moko. She has authored books on Māori art, curated art exhibitions and contributed to critical discourse on Māori art.
Sonya Korohina
Founder
Sonya Korohina
Founder
Sonya Korohina (Ngāti Porou, Whānau a Hunāra) is the director of Tauranga Art Gallery. She established Font while at the helm of Supercut Projects, a consultancy she established to support and grow the creative and heritage sectors. She has previously held positions at Auckland Art Gallery, Elam School of Fine Arts, Toi Ohomai, and Tauranga Arts Festival. In 2017, she chaired ‘Toi Moana’, the Tauranga City Council/Western Bay of Plenty District Council Arts and Culture Strategy, and worked with Tauranga City Council to develop its Public Art Framework.