Mixit is all about people. Meet our Alumni, our Youth Leaders and the support team that have made Mixit what it is today.
Youth leaders
Mixit has a dynamic Youth Leadership programme. This programme offers motivated individuals an opportunity to step up into roles where they face new challenges and opportunities to grow their skills.
Youth Leaders take on organisational and planning responsibilities, gain experience of creative facilitation skills, manage the digital media aspects of the project, have the opportunity and support to initiate events and projects that inspire them. The youth leaders are an integral and dynamic team within Mixit and work hard together to make a difference.
Ilham Akhlaqi
Youth leader
Ilham Akhlaqi joined our Youth Leadership programme in 2018. She is currently in her third year of a Bachelor of Creative Technologies at AUT, and hopes to pursue a career that allows her to draw upon her interest in technology as well as art and design.
Younis Ahmat Abdallah
Youth leader
Younis Ahmat Abdallah has been part of the Mixit family for 3 years, and joined our Youth Leadership programme in 2018. He is currently in Year 13 at Mangere College, and also studies Building at MIT. When he finishes school he hopes to become a builder and actor.
Zahra Habibi
Youth leader
Zahra Habibi was first introduced to Mixit by alumni Izadine Abdallah. She has been a part of our Youth Leadership programme since 2018. After completing her studies at Mangere College in 2019, she hopes to study Medicine or Optometry at Auckland University. She says "Mixit is fun part of my life at the moment. I just stay away from all the pressur...
Team
Wendy Preston MNZM
Creative Producer/Director
Wendy has over 30 years of professional involvement as a choreographer, director, tutor, performer and artistic producer/manager. She has worked extensively with young people on performance projects throughout her career, focusing on cross-cultural and inter-disciplinary creative interaction. Wendy has collaborated with leading practitioners across...
Shari Lett
Project Manager
Shari Lett is an educator, curator and project manager who is committed to creating meaningful connections between people and the arts. Prior to relocating to Tāmaki Makaurau in 2018, she was the Art Gallery of New South Wales’ Archivist of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Collections and Studio Manager for artist Ben Quilty. Since completing...
Nicole Beer
Financial Manager
Nicole has recently joined the team to both hold and develop our Financial Management needs. She brings an extensive background of accounting and financial know-how supporting a wide range of community and charitable organisations including Tuilaepa Youth Mentoring (who mentor Pacifica youth at risk), Hibiscus Hospice and the YES Disability Centre....
Board members
Kaviesha Abeysinghe
Trustee
Kaviesha joined Mixit as a teenager before becoming a part of the Youth Leadership Programme. More recently she has become an active member of the Alumni, co-facilitating Mixit workshops in schools and in other regions around NZ. She is currently studying to be a Primary school teacher, after graduating with a Science degree and working in a labor...
Tayyaba Akram Khan
Trustee
Tayyaba Khan is the founder of Khadija Leadership Network, the NZ Peace Ambassador for the European Muslim League, and a community development practitioner with over 15 years of experience working with the migrant and refugee communities in The Occupied Territories of Palestine, Australia, United Kingdom and New Zealand. She has an association wit...
Mike Becroft
Trustee
Michael is an Art Director in film and been part of the NZ film industry since the early 1980s. Closely associated with Mixit since it was established in 2006, he was the inaugural Chair of the Board. He retains a seat at the board table providing a steady voice of reason, a wise overview and ensures the project remains true to its core purpose, al...
Alumni squad
Mixit Youth Leaders graduate into our Alumni team. The team actively engage on many levels – as Ambassadors, on the Board, mentoring youth, performing for external events, creating music (check out our videos) and participating in continued training to creatively lead and manage outreach opportunities.
Meg Sydenham
Alumni squad
Meg worked with Mixit for the first time on the 2019 summer project JUMP CUT as a creative coach. She is from an acting background, and recently graduated from Toi Whakaari. Her range of teaching experience is diverse: putting on plays with primary school drama classes, working with kids right through to adults as an acting coach for short films, t...
Munashe Tapfuya
Alumni squad
Munashe was brought along to Mixit when she was mid-way through a Performing Arts Degree. She immediately felt at home and recognised this could be her new fam. A performer and singer who loves music and dance, Munashe has performed on both stage and screen. She has also branched out and developed some business skills and is interested in growing t...
Oscar Arnold
Alumni squad
Oscar comes from a performing arts family, who discovered Mixit at one of our outdoor site-specific performance events. Oscar immediately jumped in with his irrepressible brand of enthusiastic energy and willingness. He’s always ready to leap into any creative direction – be it dance, acting or music. It’s not if he will jump but simply how high an...
Selected guest artists
Elijah Kennar:
Choreographer & Performer
Chris O’Connor:
Composer & Musician
Gaby Thomas:
Choreographer & Performer
Bert Van Dijk:
Theatre Director & Performer
Ahi Kahrunahran:
Theatre Director
Ilai Amar:
Film maker
Ben Crowder:
Actor
Moss Patterson:
Choreographer
Yair Katz:
Musician
Emily Carter & Natalie Keane:
Costume Stylists
Tawanda Manyimo:
Theatre Director & Performer
Andi Crowne:
Photographer
Katy Burton:
Choreographer & Performer
Mike & Bronwyn Baker:
Ariel Acrobats & Circus Tutors
Ella Becroft:
Photographer & Graphic Designer
Alexander Holloway:
Stage Combat
Chris Graham:
Theatre Director & Performer
Helen Todd:
Lighting Designer
Chris Jannides:
Choreographer & Director
Jahra Wasasala:
Multi-Disciplinary Artist
Eddie Elliott:
Choreographer & Performer
Megan Bardsley:
Graphic Designer
Don McGlashan:
Composer & Musician
Mel Bailey aka Kloos:
Performer & Musician
Paulo Rotondo:
Director & Writer
Malia Johnston:
Choreographer & Director
Tama Jarman:
Theatre Director & Performer
Daniel Ortiz Rodreiguez:
Composer & Musician
Margaret-Mary Hollins:
Theatre Director & Performer
Sarah-Jane Blake:
Visual Installation & Designer
Sparrow Phillips:
Artist
Muhammad Ali Kanwal:
Musician & Performer
Ebon Grayman:
Performer & Aerial Acrobat
Eve Gordon & Dust Palace:
Performers & Aerial Acrobats
Bianca Hyslop:
Choreographer & Performer
Katy Parker:
Visual Theatre Artist
Justin Haiu:
Choreographer & Performer
Felix Becroft:
Performer & Musician
Global connections
Mixit has a growing network of similar inspiring creative organisations that work with young people and marginalized communities. We are interested in making new connections, partnerships and opportunities with like-minded groups. If you have a project and want to link up with Mixit reach out, start talking and join our global connections map.
CAN – Community Arts Northwest, Manchester
can.uk.comProject Phakama, London
projectphakama.orgContact Theatre, Manchester
contactmcr.comOvalhouse Theatre, London
ovalhouse.comCounterpoints Arts and Platforma, London
counterpointsarts.org.ukCoHealth Arts Generator, Melbourne
cohealthartsgenerator.comMulticultural Arts Victoria, Melbourne
.multiculturalarts.com.auThe Open University for Refugees, Singapore
initiativeour.orgHelp us continue mixing. Donate now.
We are a charitable trust. The best way to support Mixit is with a regular donation to help fund our work. Donations to Mixit are tax deductible.
Make a regular donation, a one off donation, or get in touch to talk about taking a more personalised approach such as contributing to a specific project, donating your time, or making a large one-off donation.
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