Local government in Auckland prides itself on being “the first city of the Pacific [with] the greatest number of Pacific residents on the planet” (Auckland Council 2018, 19), but Pacific artists in South Auckland continue to grapple with systems deliberately designed to ensure their failure. Pacific Peoples constitute an estimated nine per cent of the population of Aotearoa New Zealand, 130,000 of whom reside in South Auckland. This locale is marked by extreme poverty, overcrowding, ill-health, crime, transience and media representations that position Pacific youth in particular as both dangerous and endangered. At grass-roots level, a substantial and growing number of community-led organisations are taking action in South Auckland—for Pasifika, by Pasifika (The terms ‘Pasifika’ and ‘Pacific Peoples’ are used interchangeably in this chapter to refer to peoples, cultures and world view from the Pacific Islands, in the particular context of Aotearoa New ZealandAotearoa New Zealand (Aotearoa NZ)). However, the funding and policy context presents significant challenges and threats to Pasifika artists. While the current Pacific Arts Strategy (2023–2028), issued by Creative NZ, is a stake in the ground for Pacific arts and artists, problematising funding, evaluation and wellbeing from an indigenous Pacific perspective is necessary to ensure that funding in the Creative Arts serves Pacific artists as equal and essential partners, engaged in the collective work of Indigenous-led storytelling which will contribute substantially to the wellbeing and vitality of the village.