Our Story

 

The development of a rainbow centre/hub in Tāmaki Makaurau has started.  Anchored by longstanding queer organisations, Body Positive, Outline and the Charlotte Museum - Te Whare Takatāpui-Wāhine o Aotearoa (the Charlotte Museum) , the Te Whare Āniwaniwa Collective Trust has been established. It’s objective is to develop and build a shared queer space to house rainbow services and provide a warm and welcoming space for the rainbow community. 

 

Foundation North is supporting the project with funding for a project manager to build the infrastructure of the organisation. Te Whare Āniwaniwa Collective (TWA) as a charitable trust is governed by a board.  The board is establishing an advisory committee of community representatives whose role is to provide advice to the board.  TWA is seeking partners and sponsors to find a suitable space to house all of the services and spaces required. Services include physical and mental health, recreational, cultural and historical services provided by rainbow organisations for rainbow people. Spaces include shared meeting and working areas, commercial services and retail/hospitality businesses. 

 

How did it begin?

The planning and feasibility work for a rainbow hub began in 2018 with three rainbow community organisations, Body Positive, RainbowYOUTH, and OutLine, working together to secure funding from the Lotteries Facilities fund to complete a feasibility study on the prospect of a shared hub.  The feasibility study was completed in 2019, following an extensive consultation process involving 37 organisations and groups.  In 2022, the Charlotte Museum joined the kaupapa and funding to begin the project was received in 2024 from Foundation North.  The rainbow hub analysis and accompanying feasibility study are available here .

 

Why?

The development of a rainbow centre will benefit the rainbow communities of Tāmaki Makaurau and the community-led organisations that serve them. A hub enables organisations to be co-located, share ideas, consolidate organisation administration, and pay reduced rent. This benefits people in our rainbow communities through increased visibility, co-located services, access to facilities, and social connection.

 

Where did the idea come from?

The hub is inspired by, and draws learnings from, similar models overseas, including the 519 Centre in Toronto, Canada, the Chicago Pride Centre, USA, and the recently completed Victorian Pride Centre in Melbourne, Australia. There is a significant cost to establish and operate a physical hub, which requires a sustainable model to ensure its ongoing commercial and social success.  It is important too that funding for the hub and its services supports, rather than draws funding away, from community organisations.  

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Shared Values

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This kaupapa is grounded in shared understandings of: 

Te Tiriti o Waitangi 
We acknowledge Te Tiriti o Waitangi as a founding document of Aotearoa New Zealand and aim to work within the spirit and intention of te Tiriti as we are on Māori land. 

Shared experiences 
We come together from a shared experience of historical and ever-present stigma and discrimination to create a safe and inclusive space where we can be stronger together as rainbow communities to uplift, uphold and celebrate our communities' wellbeing. 

Uplifting 
We take a strengths-based approach that envisages future generations knowing only positivity and fun when part of the rainbow community. 

Inclusivity 
We aim to generate inclusion within and across our rainbow communities, including intergenerational connection and solidarity and making the invisible visible.

Intersectionality 
We work to acknowledge and challenge the dominant narratives and structures present within rainbow communities. We aim for nuanced understanding, consideration, and inclusion for those who are not led by Western world views, including Māori and Pacific peoples. 

Sustainability, and generative 
We are mindful of the need for this large project to be generative for the communities, organisations and individuals that use it, not a burden on the funding and donations available to rainbow groups

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