Apia, Sāmoa — A bold cross-cultural initiative, Buckwheat Reimagined, launches in partnership with the Sāmoa Fa’afafine Association and Talanoa Arts Forum to strengthen Fa’afafine, Fa’atama and PIDSOGIESC+ communities through sustainable drag practice and skills exchange.
Led by Samoan–New Zealand drag artist Ulugia Edward Cowley aka Buckwheat, the project donates over NZD 50,000.00 / WST 83,000.00 worth of costumes, wigs, accessories and performance equipment accumulated across four decades. Beyond material support, Buckwheat will deliver hands-on workshops in costume alteration, wig craft, makeup, performance technique and drag as business entrepreneurship — equipping participants with creative, economic and climate-conscious approaches to staging work on-island.
“Buckwheat Reimagined is about cultural pride, resourcefulness and passing on practice so our communities can perform, earn and thrive sustainably,” says Buckwheat.
“We’re deeply honored to partner in Buckwheat Reimagined,” said Alex Su’a, the President of the Sāmoa Fa’afafine Association. “This initiative embodies the values of Fa’a Sāmoa — sharing, resilience, and collective uplift. By equipping our Fa’afafine, Fa’atama and PIDSOGIESC+ communities with sustainable drag skills and resources, we strengthen both cultural pride and economic opportunity. Buckwheat’s generosity ensures that our performers can continue to shine on-island, while embracing climate-conscious practices that safeguard our future. SFA celebrates this exchange as a milestone in empowering our people to perform, earn, and thrive with dignity”.
Buckwheat Reimagined is co-curated by the Talanoa Arts Forum — a curatorial agency for the Pacific cultural industry led by co-directors Yuki Kihara and Tanuvasa Maiava. They have been working closely with Ulugia on the co-ordination of the freight for the donated goods, consulting the Sāmoa Fa’afafine Association on the workshop; and capturing behind-the-scenes footage in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland and Sāmoa to culminate in a short documentary released later this year.
The Buckwheat Reimagined workshop will run from 27–31 July 2026 at the Tanoa Ballroom, Tanoa Tusitala Hotel in Apia. The participation to the workshop is by invitation due to limited capacity. The workshop culminates in a public drag cabaret and dinner on Friday, 31 July (doors open 6:00 PM) — a WST$20.00 ticketed celebration of talent, resilience and Pacific queer identity. Contact Gustav Su’a [email protected] for ticket sales.
