Wantok Musik Foundation

“Music is what we all share. It’s our history, our lore, it’s our future, our education, it’s our hurts, it’s our joys, it’s our injustices, our struggles, it’s our future, our love, and our hope. This is how it is for all cultures, this is common, and it’s through music that we hear, share and learn these things. Music can and has crossed every cultural barrier imaginable and will continued to do so.

There may be different sounds, different beats, different instruments, but we are singing the same things, we are talking with a common language – with one talk.”

 

Drawing on the rich musical talent of our region, the Wantok Musik Foundation, an Australian-based not-for-profit organisation, promotes and facilitates various cultural exchanges and a greater level of economic empowerment for First Nations artists from the Oceania region, and their communities.

Aims and objectives

 

The Wantok Musik Foundation aims to generate and foster various cultural exchanges between Australia and our neighbours throughout Oceania by establishing a leading, not-for-profit Music Label representing First Nation and world music groups of this unique region, that will:

 

• Record, release and promote music from First Nation Australia, Melanesia & Oceania

• Raise the local and international profile of First Nation and world music groups based in the region

• Provide greater economic opportunity for artists and long-term career sustainability by providing a viable outlet, and distributing royalties/profits through equitable and culturally appropriate mechanisms,While simultaneously managing various initiatives to:

• Address various social issues with creative, culturally focused approaches

• Increase Australians’ understanding and appreciation of the diverse cultures of their region

• Cultivate ‘capacity building’ for music recording within the region

• Increase the cultural exchange between Australia and countries within the region