Goroka Town was the host for the inaugural Musik Blok residency, a groundbreaking artist-led initiative that connected emerging musicians with leading Australian artists and mentors.
Founded by PNG-born, Australia-based artist Ngaiire, Musik Blok was her initiative to create and strengthen contemporary music practice in Papua New Guinea. Born in Lae, Morobe Province as Ngaire Laun Joseph, she took on the stage name Ngaiire. She is a four-time ARIA Award-nominated artist and was a judge on Pacific Break. She commenced her musical career in 2003 and performed on Australian Idol, where she was voted in as a “wild card” at one point.
Ngaiire returned to PNG and founded the creative platform, Musik Blok, where she acts as the Program Director. She worked hard to pull this opportunity together and said the success of the inaugural residency demonstrated what was possible when artists were given the time, space, and support to create together.
“Watching this vision come to life has been incredibly moving,” said Ngaiire. She added that the program achieves this by simply providing opportunities for mentorship, creative development, and professional collaboration without requiring artists to leave PNG.
The residency was conducted over 10 days and covered songwriting, music production, and cultural exchanges between eight local artists and internationally recognized mentors. The mentor lineup included Airileke, Nai Palm, Ant Enoch, Kaiit, Setwun, and Cazeaux O.S.L.O. Throughout the program, participants collaborated to write and record new original music while building skills in songwriting, recording, and production.
Supported by Australia’s Cultural Diplomacy Grants Program, the pilot residency also included a community-led cultural exchange in Watabung village.
Australian mentor and producer Ariel Blum said the experience had left a lasting impact. Blum is the co-founder of the GRID series, an artist development program supporting outer-suburban emerging creatives around Australia. He added that the opportunity to write and create music with Papua New Guinea’s most exciting emerging artists was a deeply nourishing creative experience that taught him so much about cross-cultural collaboration.
“Taking part as a mentor in Musik Blok was one of the most transformational creative and cultural experiences, I have had in my 25-year career in the music industry,” said Blum.
Blum, who is based in Melbourne, added that the music created throughout the program is truly world-class.
“I can’t wait to see the careers of the participants grow and flourish,” he said.
In her concluding remarks, Ngaiire said that the program was grounded in culture, country, and community.
“What made Musik Blok so special wasn’t just the music that was created, although that was extraordinary. It was the way the program was grounded in,” she added.
The residency culminated in a ‘listening party’ where invited guests experienced original works created during the program, offering a first glimpse into the creative outcomes of the pilot.
(PHOTO FILES supplied by Ziggy Tow)
