Welcome to Touch Compass

Nau mai, haere mai ki Touch Compass

Creating innovative disability-led arts since 1997

About About

Pearls

Pearls - A new work by Alisha McLennan Marler and Julia Harvie, part of the Tuarå Wairua triple bill.

Pearls - part of the Tuarā Wairua triple bill Pearls - part of the Tuarā Wairua triple bill

Read our July Newsletter!

Our July newsletter - Decolonising the arts: Mātauranga Māori, or is it?

Join our classes!

Education Education

Touch Compass is Aotearoa New Zealand’s leading professional arts organisation whose work is disability-led. We deliver high-quality performances and art activations, youth and community classes, workshops, and professional development.

Touch Compass provides a platform for disabled artists, choreographers and production crews to advance their skills and capabilities to create, produce and deliver innovative and authentic creative experiences face-to-face and online for local, national and international audiences. Through Touch Compass, individuals and organisations can grow their disability consciousness and awareness, champion diversity and inclusiveness.

Tell me more about Touch Compass

A still from Alter State Digital Launch. A Māori female sign language interpreter with long dark hair and glasses, wearing a dark shirt, is set against a background of a top-to-bottom mirror image of ocean ripples. She is using her hands to interpret.

Alter State Digital Launch (2021), Stephanie Awheto, multilingual sign language interpreter

Work
Mahi

Our works are disability-led, exceptional professional arts performances and arts activations.

We are multidisciplinary, ranging from dance and movement performances to theatre, digital films, visual arts, festival engagements and site-specific installations. Through our work we explore the intersection of culture and disability, and showcase Te Ao Māori (the Māori world), Va Pasifika (the spirit of Pasifika) and high-quality innovative disability-led performance. Our work can be found in venues throughout Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally.

View our work

Six students wearing white t-shirts, five standing, one in a wheelchair, dancing with their arms fluidly moving in the air.

Education
Mātauranga

Our education classes are fun and engaging, offering a solid foundation of dance, movement and togetherness for our students (tauira).

Two different offerings - our Creative Class (rangatahi and teina - youth and young adults) and our Contemporary Class (pakeke - for adults) - ensure that our creative whānau - disabled and non-disabled - grow together, working towards developing their skills in performance and enhancing social connection. These classes also have public showings throughout the year that give whānau, friends and family, and community audiences a chance to see first-hand what they've learned. Join a class today!

See the listings for the classes for more information, or contact office@touchcompass.org.nz

View our classes

News

Rongorongo

Read about our new programme, with JPF Films and Ingot Films, to engage and teach skills to d/Deaf and Disabled aspirant producers/filmmakers! Photos and updates about 'Tentacular', 'Pearls' and 'Mud', Aiga - and Rodney Bell is in Europe!

30 August 2023

August Newsletter - New programmes, loads of news!

Read about our new programme, with JPF Films and Ingot Films, to engage and teach skills to d/Deaf and Disabled aspirant producers/filmmakers! Photos and updates about 'Tentacular', 'Pearls' and 'Mud', Aiga - and Rodney Bell is in Europe!