Toi Ora Live Art Trust

06/10/2025

It’s Mental Health Awareness week!

Today the theme is give/tukua. There are many ways to give, and here’s some:

💜Donate to your favourite charity 😉
💜You could give your time volunteering or help out someone in need.
💜You could give kindness by saying something uplifting or doing a kind deed.

Let’s lift each other up!

06/10/2025

Come see what our mosaic students have been creating! ✨💜✨

When: Opening 8 October 2025 - 22 October
Where: Toi Ora gallery, 6 Putiki St, Grey Lynn, Auckland

30/09/2025

"I've become more confident, social and a lot less withdrawn."
When Aelinor was struggling to get out of bed in the morning, Toi Ora’s creative classes gave her somewhere to go, a safe space to connect and create.
🌊 Watch her full story: https://toiora.org.nz/art-is-our-anchor/

23/09/2025

✨ “People are very welcoming and they break the ice very quickly.”

At Toi Ora, community is as much our anchor as art itself. 💜

In the past year, registrations have doubled — a sign of how vital and life-saving this creative space is for people in mental health recovery.

Your support helps us expand and sustain this community of belonging. Please donate today and give the gift of connection.

👉 https://toiora.org.nz/art-is-our-anchor/

18/09/2025

A good ole lunchtime waiata!
We've erupted into song every day this week for Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori 🥹🎶💜✨

16/09/2025

Creating this collaborative mahi toi (artwork) made in our Toi Hono creative class was magic! ✨✨✨

The question which sparked this artwork was, ‘What is it that settles us?”

“It is a symbol of how we all connect with our environment. I see very strong connections to Papatūānuku (mother earth) and Ranginui (sky father),” says Toi Hono Tutor Lisa Critchley.

The class connected through weaving harakeke (flax), and she says it was magic!

Hanging it in the Toi Ora entrance during Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori, felt special. It is a taonga (treasure) and a beautiful backdrop for waiata and karakia for the team. 💜

15/09/2025

🌊 “At Toi Ora, I can relax and be myself.”
For Aelinor, creative classes are a safe space, a place of connection, and a way to navigate life’s storms. 💜

When challenges hit, art is our anchor. 🎨✨
Check out our campaign here ➡️ https://toiora.org.nz/art-is-our-anchor

14/09/2025

Look who's in the news! 🥹

Thank you to Ponsonby News for highlighting the power of creativity to save and transform lives. The article shares our new campaign Art is Our Anchor, following Ross, Aelinor, and Michael's transformative journeys.

Check out the campaign: https://toiora.org.nz/art-is-our-anchor/
Read the article: https://ponsonbynews.co.nz/blogs/news/art-saves-lives-toi-ora-creative-classes-relieve-strain-on-th…

Supporting 500+ people in mental health recovery through free, professional creative classes.

10/09/2025

✨ “My life was chaotic before Toi Ora. Toi Ora gave me the drive and purpose to go out and do stuff, when I could have easily sunk and gone the other way.” ✨

Ross is one of the many artists whose life has been transformed through creativity, connection and community at Toi Ora. 💜

As part of our Art is Our Anchor campaign, read his story of resilience: https://toiora.org.nz/art-is-our-anchor/

01/09/2025

HUMANS OF TOI ORA: Toi Ora welcomes new Artist Liaison Bailey Wiley

Bailey joins Joelle in the role of Artist Liaison at Toi Ora. As an emerging creative arts therapist and musician, she knows the power that creativity can have, providing herself and those she journeys alongside with a sense of meaning and purpose.

Learn more about Bailey, who is also studying towards a Master's in Creative Arts Therapy (Clinical): https://toiora.org.nz/toi-ora-welcomes-new-toi-ora-artist-liaison-bailey-wiley/

24/08/2025

"Toi Ora reminds us that healing doesn't always happen in a clinic. It can begin with a brushstroke, a melody, a moment of shared creativity" - Susanne Ritzenhoff, Toi Ora director.

✨🙌✨

Tell us, how does creativity help you heal?

20/08/2025

An exhibition opening is a mana enhancing time for any artists. It’s a time to celebrate, focus on the positives and bring your family and supporters together.

Here’s a few snaps from our Draw and Paint exhibition opening - well done to all our artists 🎨✨🙌