10 years of Curative

With everything that’s happening around us right now, it still feels a bit hard to believe that we were able to mark the ten year anniversary of Curative by gathering some of our nearest and dearest for a proper fun party in the middle of January (following all of the rules of the Orange Traffic Light setting, of course!).

Celebrating big milestones gives us cause to stop and reflect.

For me, it awakened so many memories, and had me thinking about the amazing people who have come into our world, the challenges that we’ve worked through together, the wild ideas that we’ve had, and the weird and wonderful things we’ve made.

Curative has always been a place to experience the full range of emotions. We grapple with some of the most complex social issues. We spend our days trying to get our head around how there can be such huge inequities (colonisation and capitalism – we’re looking at you) – and more importantly, we’re always chasing ways to interrupt the status quo and help to inspire better for everyone.

Over the years, we’ve experienced loss and sadness. We’ve changed shape plenty of times. We’ve felt frustrated and angry about the unfairness of so many things we see in the communities around us. We’ve wrestled with our own creativity, and wished that change could happen faster.

But, we’ve also had so many special times of celebration, of joy, hilarity, and hope.

And I think that’s pretty special. Because joy and laughter can feel a bit incongruent with complex social issues and the heftiness of so many inequities. But joy and laughter is absolutely the language of community.

And that’s what Curative is.

We’re a community.
Our work is all about people.

We have the huge privilege of working with and in different communities. We get to hear people’s stories. They share their pain and their strength with us. And no matter how many people we meet along the way, I’m always surprised by everyone’s courage and resilience as they stand up for their communities, and fight for their rights.

Often our job is to reflect back the strength, potential and possibility that live in the communities we work alongside. To help people see the challenges through a different lens. To build empathy and respect. And to help take some of the weight off of the shoulders of those who are battling for better; to share the load in moving forward.

After 10 years of changemaking alongside so many incredible people, we felt it was time for a change of our own. So to celebrate our recent anniversary, we’ve given ourselves a makeover.

Our new look reflects the process that we go through with each and every project we work on, and creates room for the creative work we do with you all to shine through.

So, as we mark this first 10 years, I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has been part of our journey. To every team member, client, partner, collaborator, to our friends and whānau: thank you. You’ve all helped to shape our understanding of the world, you’ve supported us to unlock new potential, to imagine new ideas, and to tell new stories.

Thank you for being our inspiration.

Ngā mihi,

Eddy