Mere Tokorahi Boynton is a New Zealand singer, producer and actor. As an actor she is known for her role as Mavis in the film Once Were Warriors. Boynton was Director Ngā Toi Māori for the Aotearoa Festival.
Boynton trained in singing at the Conservatorium of Music, Wellington Polytechnic and Māori Studies at Victoria University of Wellington.
Boynton sang Gareth Farr Te Papa, for the opening of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. She toured New Zealand in Michael Parmenter's dance opera Jerusalem and was in a te reo Māori version of The Merchant of Venice, Te Tangata Whairawa o Weneti.
In 2019, Boynton appeared in the premiere of Witi Ihimaera show Witi's Wahine at the Tairawhiti Arts Festival. In July 2021, Boynton was a soloist for the premiere of Matariki, composed by Gareth Farr and for which Boynton and Ariana Tikao wrote the words. Matariki was performed by the NZSO in Auckland and Wellington, and was conducted by Gemma New.
Boynton was appointed as Director Ngā Toi Māori for the New Zealand events organisation Tāwhiri in September 2020. Tāwhiri organises events in Wellington including the biennial New Zealand Festival of the Arts, Wellington Jazz Festival and the Lexus Song Quest. Boynton's appointment heralded a change for the arts festival to have half the content be Māori or indigenous.
Boynton was part of the team that programmed the new Wellington Māori language festival, Te Hui Ahurei Reo Māori o Te Whanganui a Tara. The inaugural festival was held in 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Maori Language petition being presented to Parliament. Boynton left Tāwhiri in 2024.
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