Venasio Komai: International Arts Leaders Program

Mr. Venasio Komai is currently the Senior Information and Planning Officer and team leader for the Planning Development Unit of the Fiji Arts Council. In 2018, for a short period and for the first time became the Acting Director for the Fiji Arts Council.

Q&A

What attracted you to the Leadership Program?

The low development of the arts sector in Fiji really attracted me to this Leadership Program with the hope that operational, strategic, professional, artistic changes will roll out at the national 2-5 years once I complete this program. The Arts Sector in Fiji needs an aspirational leader, someone who can guide its evolving status and foster and/or leverage it at the national level.

Why do you think it is important to develop Arts Leaders?

To develop arts leaders, we should have a flow of vision and ideas in order to serve the arts sector well. Be able to effectively respond to an increasingly demanding environment, organizations not only they must adapt but they must adaptive. But organizations should consider the diversity of ideas and experiences embodied by the entire staff, and how embracing these perspectives can help them connect with new audiences and develop innovative approaches to achieving their mission. So it is important to develop leaders to see and focus on these areas of leadership.

Are there ideas around leadership that need to change for our sector to thrive? Are the current notions of leadership still relevant?

In Fiji, leaders in the arts sectors need to be innovative. One element lacking is that we often fail to try to bridge the gap between traditional and contemporary arts. A national discussion on the matter is warranted allowing for healthy dialogue and a clear way forward heralded.

Leaders in the arts sector need to be aspirational. We need to move away from having arts administrated by “administrators” but those with genuine passion and love for the arts in Fiji. For long this sector has been neglected. The arts sector needs inspirational leaders who can drive the sector forward.

What are the top three qualities of leaders that inspire you?

Creatively outspoken, Inspire others and accountable.

Biography

Mr. Venasio Komai is currently the Senior Information and Planning Officer and team leader for the Planning Development Unit of the Fiji Arts Council. In 2018, for a short period and for the first time became the Acting Director for the Fiji Arts Council.

As a team leader for planning and development, he was assigned to assist Director Fiji Arts Council to make strategic and critical decisions in as far as the development of the arts sector is concerned including capacity building of practitioners, the facilitation of cultural industries.

Venasio has worked in the culture sector for 15 years and during his term, he worked with different cultural agencies in Fiji. The highlight of his career was given the task to work in consecutive secretariats of the Fiji Delegation to Pacific Festival of Arts and Melanesian Arts Festival including the 3rd Melanesian Arts Festival hosted by Fiji in 2006; 10th Festival of Pacific Arts 2008 in American Samoa; 4th Melanesian Festival of Arts Noumea,  New Caledonia 2010; 5th Melanesian Arts Festival – Papua New Guinea in 2014, 12th Festival of Pacific Arts, Guam 2016;  and 6th Melanesian Arts Festival Solomon Islands in 2018. He was selected to represent the Fiji Arts Council at the 5th World Summit, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia organized by the International Federation of Arts Council (IFACCA).

He graduated with a Professional Diploma in Business Management (PDBM) from the University of the South Pacific (USP) and went on to attend a training course at V.V.Giri Labour Institute, Noida India under the ITEC training Certificate in Enhancing Leadership Skills.

An indigenous Fijian and proud of his heritage, Mr. Komai hails from the province of Lomaiviti, located on Fiji’s Central Eastern region and is the 2nd eldest of 5 siblings. His hobbies include socializing, travelling, sand-based hockey, and netball.

Learn more about the 2020 Leadership Program participants.