BOX Oceania is currently made up of four actively organising members in Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington) and two members based on Wurundjeri land (Melbourne).
We are a group of takatāpui, Moana Pasifika, fa’a’afa, skuxx and queer punk lovers and fighters. We are appreciative of our relationships across islands, oceans, cities and time.
We have been lucky to meet and work with groups such as Alterity Collective, School’s Out, Tīwhanawhana, Love Life Fono, Glitch Aotearoa and Hohou Te Rongo Kahukura – Outing Violence.
Interested in joining the crew? Holla mai!
Bex Djentuh-Davis
As a founding member of BOX Oceania (Wellington) and ALTERITY Collective (Melbourne), Bex dedicates much of her time to organising events and other spaces for QTIPOC.
The outcomes of these events include donating to groups / organisations that support our communities, but receive little government support.
She is passionate about our communities and is an advocate for safe sex through her work in the adult retail industry.
Bex hopes to pave a path of pride for those that don’t feel like they fit in anywhere. She believes that by working together, we can enlighten one another on our histories for ourselves and future generations.
Rex Anthony Paget
SKUXX PRINCE WITH A HEART OF GOLD
Rex is the smooth moves and skuxx heart of BOX Oceania. Descending from his mother’s Sāmoan-Chinese roots and his father’s French-Scandinavian heritage, he was born and bred in the fast-moving metropolis of Tawa, just outside of Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington).
Rex made it through his teenage years as the solo brown emo kid in his social circle, and still enjoys tight jeans and a good acoustic anthem. Inspired by Usher, Conor Oberst and his māmā – he is the envy of the dancefloor, the angst of the disconnected, and the heart of a saint.
Recognising that there was a gap in the gay club scene, he was a part of early conversations about creating accessible events for queer people of colour in Aotearoa’s capital. Once BOX started up, he performed as his alter-ego Brey Kin Hearts alongside other hip hop, punk and poetry acts.
Rex is trained as a boss ass chef and can cook you a fine gourmet meal that you couldn’t even pronounce. But his true passion lies in creativity – music, dancing, performance and writing. He can also play a mean game of basketball – both on NBA2k16 and IRL.
He has a strong sense of community, and believes in creating whānau like spaces where people feel like they truly belong. Rex has been instrumental in organising the School of Hard Skuxx – BOX Oceania’s creative, collaborative, gender-redefining crew of young takatāpui / fa’afafine / people of colour. He A++++ loves being a part of a team that aims to support others in their creative kaupapa and building capacity in sexuality + gender diverse Māori and Pacific communities.
Kassie Hartendorp
LOVEABLE INDIGENOUS PUNK ACTIVIST BRAT
Ko Te Awakairangi te awa.
I te taha o tōku whaea, ko Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga te iwi.
I te taha o tōku matua, ko Ngāti Pākehā ahau.
I whakatipu ake ahau ki Te Awakairangi, me Whanganui.
Engari, kei Te Whanganui-a-Tara ahau e noho ana.
Ko Kassie tōku ingoa.
Kassie Hartendorp is a noisy punk takatāpui wahine who sits (and stands) in between many different spaces as a Māori / Pākehā multigender-loving misfit. Born from the whenua of Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga, descending from Italy, adopted by British / Dutch parents, and placed in a perfectly mismatched family, she started her life in Upper Hutt and grew up in the outskirts of the river city, Whanganui.
She spent her teenage years creating music, perfecting her wing tip eyeliner, and stirring shit up in a town a little too small for her big cackle. Kassie found her political awakening in her early teens while listening to the crustiest of punk, hanging out at the Eye of Night (a live gig venue in Whangas – RIP Al ) and feeling a deep sense of injustice in her gut from the world around her.
Kassie moved back down to Wellington at age 18 to become the first in her family to study at university, but spent more time protesting and yelling at the cops (FTP) than actually studying (still got the degree) (mad skillz). She cut her political teeth within socialist groups and learnt the importance of working with others to create radical social change. She’s been involved in queer organising since 2010, running support groups for LGBTIQ+ young people, and political events. She recently joined BOX Oceania this year and has quickly become an active and loved member.
Kassie is inspired by indigenous activisms, revolutionary movements and wahine + takatāpui toa. You’ll find her supporting young people through her youth worker day job, on the frontline of a protest or eating vast amounts of food with her loved ones. She is deeply rooted in her communities, and strongly believes in collectivity, collaboration and manaakitanga. Kassie’s true jam is in exploring the interconnectedness of oppression, working out ways to destroy capitalism and decolonise/polynise across Aotearoa and Te Moana Nui-a-Kiwa. She has a love for those who challenge the norm and are unafraid to show kindness in a fucked up world.
trixie
FAT PUNK FEMINIST ACTIVIST NON BINARY SKUX
Born out West and hailing from South Auckland, trixie is a Scottish, Kiwi, Pinoy fusion whose only regret is that they weren’t born on 4/20.
This Aries whirlwind has been spewing creation onto the planet since the ripe age of 11, with punk proficiency in guitar, bass, drums and killer vocal stylings, trixie is a threat to any Singstar/Guitar Hero enthusiast.
Rock dogging in several music projects since their early teens and as a current member of NZ based Badd Energy and Melbourne’s punk trio BBW, trixie is no stranger to the stage and has even earned her stripes as an in demand eclectic party DJ who commands you to dance like the music domme that they are.
And because an Aries never looks before they leap, trixie’s found themselves knee deep in multiple creative endeavors, including but not limited to, modelling, performance/visual art & writing.
trixie is an active member in both NZ based BOX Oceania and Melbourne based Alterity Collective who run fundraising events that aim to give light to the art, struggles and existence of QTIPOC+.
With such a longstanding and passionate relationship with art and the music world, trixie has recently been invited to share their unique voice & experience speaking on panels.
Fetuolemoana Teuila Tamapeau
SAVAGE ISLAND BIG HAIR (DO CARE) FA’A’AFA SKUXX
Samoa, Niue, Fiji and Tonga are the primary genealogical and cultural locations of Fetuolemoana’s immediate family today. Her family is affiliated to Mauga o Fao the mountain and Avaiki the cave. The villages they are affiliated with are Makefu (Niue), Salimu i Fagaloa, Mauga, Le Auva’a and Fasito’o uta (Samoa).
Fetu has lived and been raised by family in Samoa, Auckland and Wellington. Today, she is based at her family home in Newtown, Te Whanganui-a-Tara, where her family has been since the 1970s.
The indigenous science and theory of vā provides a foundation for how she relates to others and herself.
BOX Oceania 