Media Release | Tuesday 17 November 2020
'Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art' set to wow audiences this Summer
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki presents landmark exhibition of contemporary Māori art in major showcase opening Saturday 5 December.
In the largest exhibition ever presented by Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art offers insights into the development of Māori art from the 1950s to the present day. The first major exhibition of its kind in nearly 20 years, Toi Tū Toi Ora is informed by a Māori worldview, and will include more than 300 artworks, exploring cultural histories, Māori knowledge, identity and place.
Spanning 70 years with work by 111 artists, Toi Tū Toi Ora presents both an aspiration and a challenge to realise a future in which contemporary Māori art continues to stand tall – toi tū – and healthy – toi ora – while reinforcing the wisdom and ideas that empower Māori and Indigenous ways of knowing.
Showcasing iconic artworks by some of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most significant artists – Ralph Hotere, Lonnie Hutchinson, Robyn Kahukiwa, Mere Harrison Lodge, Merata Mita, Buck Nin, Fiona Pardington, Michael Parekowhai, James Ormsby, Lisa Reihana, Rachael Rakena, Peter Robinson, Wi Taepa, Cliff Whiting, Arnold Manaaki Wilson, Pauline Yearbury, and more – Toi Tū Toi Ora will include painting, sculpture, printmaking, clay-making, jewellery and body adornment, photography, digital media, film and installation art.
Nigel Borell (Pirirākau, Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Ranginui, Te Whakatōhea), Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki Curator, Māori Art, says: ‘Toi Tū Toi Ora is organised around the Māori creation narrative as a way to enter into a conversation about the importance of Māori art and artists, and to explore what unites these artists across space and time.’
‘As visitors explore the exhibition, they will literally step into the creation story, beginning with Te Kore (the great nothingness) before traveling through to Te Po (the darkness), then the separation of Ranginui and Papatūāknuku before entering Te Ao Mārama (the world of light and life).’
Kirsten Lacy, Director, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, says: ‘This is a spirited and celebratory exhibition that sees the Gallery dedicated to showcasing a distinct and important art movement, both within Aotearoa New Zealand and a global context. Contemporary Māori art, like Māori culture, is nuanced, vibrant and diverse. Toi Tū Toi Ora is a crucial update to the story of the art of our country. We warmly invite all New Zealanders to take pride in Māori creativity and to explore the Māori creation narrative in a new way. This is a free exhibition for everyone to enjoy and we hope visitors will leave full of heart.’
To be unveiled over the duration of the exhibition, Toi Tū Toi Ora will include major new artworks that have been commissioned by artists from around Aotearoa New Zealand.
The commissions include an interactive exhibition in the Gallery’s family-friendly Creative Learning Centre by Charlotte Graham; a new installation by Ana Iti on the Gallery’s exterior sculpture terrace, connecting the Gallery with nearby Albert Park; and a major new work by Reuben Paterson to be installed in the Gallery’s forecourt pool next year.
In the Gallery’s prominent North Atrium, an installation by Emily Karaka will be the largest artist commission of her career. The windows of the Gallery’s South Atrium, meanwhile, are the location for a colourful, two-storey-high installation by Sandy Adsett who explores kōwhaiwhai in his work Puhoro, 2020.
A new, two-storey-high installation work based on the female deity Hine-nui-te-po has been produced by Mata Aho Collective in collaboration with artist Maureen Lander; and in the Gallery’s historic Mackelvie Gallery, Shane Cotton has co-curated an exhibition room that will place work by contemporary Māori artists alongside the Gallery’s historical art collection and an exciting new commission work from the artist himself.
Other major new works to be shown for the first time have been produced by Reweti Arapere; Shona Rapira-Davies; Matekino Lawless and Christina Horihia Wirihana; Te Rongo Kirkwood; Ngataiharuru Taepa; Areta Wilkinson and more.
The exhibition will also be accompanied by a Toi Tū Toi Ora satellite site in the Britomart precinct, developed in partnership with the Britomart Group, which will include four new public artworks by Shane Cotton, Lonnie Hutchinson, Charlotte Graham and Lyonel Grant.
The exhibition’s development has been supported by Haerewa, the Māori advisory group to Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki. Chair of Haerewa, Elizabeth Ellis (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Porou), says: ‘An exhibition survey of this scale has been a long time coming in Aotearoa New Zealand and it fulfils our aspirations for the Gallery. Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art brings visibility to contemporary Māori art for Māori communities and all to celebrate and embrace.’
'E takatū ana a Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art' ki te whakaoho i te marea i tēnei Raumati
E whakaatu ana a Toi o Tāmaki i tēnei whakaaturanga rongomaiwhiti o ngā toi Māori o nāianei ki tētahi whakakitenga nui ka tuwhera ā te Rāhoroi 5 o Hakihea.
I roto i te whakaaturanga nui rawa kua whakaaturia e Toi o Tāmaki, mā Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art e whai tirohanga ai ki te whanaketanga o te toi Māori mai i ngā tau 1950 ki tēnei rā. He whakaaturanga nui tuatahi i ngā tau 20 kua hipa a Toi Tū Toi Ora, e whai mōhio ana mai i te tirohanga a te Māori ki tōna ao, ā, ka whai wāhi ngā mahi toi neke atu i te 300, e tūhura ana i ngā kōrero ahurea tuku iho, te mātauranga Māori, te tuakiritanga me te tūrangawaewae.
Horapa i ngā tau 70 ngā mahi a ngā ringatoi 111 e whakaaturia ana e Toi Tū Toi Ora, he ohonga wairua, he wero hoki kia whakatinanahia tētahi anamata e toitū tonu ai – toi tū – e ora tonu ai – toi ora – te toi Māori o Nāianei i te wā e whakaū tonutia ana te mōhiotanga me ngā ariā e whakakaha nei i te mātauranga Māori.
Ka whakaaturia ngā mahi toi rongonui a ētahi o ngā ringarehe toi o Aotearoa – Ralph Hotere, rātou ko Lonnie Hutchinson, Robyn Kahukiwa, Mere Harrison Lodge, Merata Mita, Buck Nin, Fiona Pardington, Michael Parekowhai, James Ormsby, Lisa Reihana, Rachael Rakena, Peter Robinson, Wi Taepa, Cliff Whiting, Arnold Manaaki Wilson, Pauline Yearbury, me ētahi atu – tāpiri atu ki a Toi Tū Toi Ora ko ngā waituhi, tāraitanga, mahi tārua, mahi uku, taonga whakarākei tinana, whakaahua, toi matihiko, kiriata, me te toi puni.
Hei tā Nigel Borell (Pirirākau, Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Ranginui, Te Whakatōhea), te ringaraupī o ngā Toi Māori o Toi o Tāmaki: 'He mea whakarite a Toi Tū Toi Ora i runga i ngā kōrero tuku iho a te Māori mō te orokohanga hei whakaurunga ki ngā kōrero mō te hiranga o ngā toi Māori me ōna ringatoi, ā, me te tūhura he aha te mea e whakakotahi ana i ēnei ringatoi puta noa i ngā ao maha, wā maha hoki.'
I te wā e tirotiro ana ngā manuhiri i te whakaaturanga, ka kuhu hāngai rātou ki ngā kōrero o te orokohanga, tīmata mai i Te Kore, i mua o te haerenga ki Te Pō, kātahi ki te wehenga o Ranginui rāua ko Papatūānuku i mua o te putanga ki Te Ao Mārama.'
E kī ana a Kirsten Lacy, te kaitohutohu o Toi o Tāmaki: 'He whakaaturanga hihiri, āhuareka hoki tēnei, e pūmau ana te Taiwhanga ki te whakanui i tētahi kaupapa toi motuhake, whaitake hoki, i roto i te horopaki o Aotearoa me te ao whānui. He rite te toi Māori o nāianei ki te ahurea Māori, arā, he ahurei, he hihiri, he kanorau hoki. He whakahoutanga waiwai a Toi Tū Toi Ora ki ngā kōrero toi o tō tātou motu. E pōwhiri ana mātou i ngā tāngata katoa o Aotearoa kia tū whakahī tātou i te auatanga Māori me te tūhura i ngā kōrero o te orokohanga Māori mā tētahi tirohanga hou. He whakaaturanga kore utu tēnei hei pārekarekatanga mā te katoa, ā, e tūmanako ana mātou ka hahana te ngākau i te wehenga atu.'
Hei te roanga o te whakaaturanga, ka huraina e Toi Tū Toi Ora ētahi mahi toi whakahirahira hou, i tonoa e ngā ringatoi puta noa i Aotearoa.
Kei roto i ngā mahi tono nei, ko tētahi whakaaturanga pāhekoheko i te wāhanga whakarata whānau o te Taiwhanga arā te Pokapū Ako Auaha nā Charlotte Graham; he toi puni hou nā Ana Iti kei te parehua tāraitanga o waho a te Taiwhanga, e hono ana i te Taiwhanga ki te Pāka o Arapeta; He mahi toi whakahirahira hou nā Reuben Paterson ka whakairia ki te puna o te ātea o te Taiwhanga hei tērā tau.
Kei te Taiwhanga Raki o te Taiwhanga Matua tētahi toi puni nā Emily Karaka, ā, ka noho koinei tana mahinga toi nui rawa atu. Waihoki, ko ngā matapihi o te Taiwhanga Tonga o te Taiwhanga Matua te wāhi e kitea ai tētahi toi puni muramura, e rua papanga te teitei, nā Sandy Adsett, e whakamahi ana i ngā tauira kōwhaiwhai mō tana mahi e kīia nei ko Puhoro,2020.
Kua waihangatia tētahi toi puni hou, e rua papanga te teitei mō Hine-nui-te-pō e Te Kohinga Mata Aho, i te taha i te ringatoi Maureen Lander; ā, kei te whakairinga tawhito o Mackelvie o te Taiwhanga, kua raupītia e Shane Cotton tētahi whakaaturanga e whakanoho ana i ngā mahi a ngā ringa toi o nāianei i te taha o ngā kohinga toi tawhito o te Taiwhanga.
Ko ētahi atu mahi toi matua hou ka whakaatutia mō te wā tuatahi, kua waihangatia e Reweti Arapere; Shona Rapira-Davies; Matekino Lawless rāua ko Christina Hurihia Wirihana; Te Rongo Kirkwood; Ngataiharuru Taepa; Areta Wilkinson me ētahi atu.
Ka whakatūria ngātahitia tēnei whakaaturanga ki te whakaaturanga whāiti o Toi Tū Toi Ora i te rohe o Britomart, i whanaketia i te taha o Britomart Group, kei roto ngā mahi toi tūmatanui hou nā Shane Cotton, rātou ko Lonnie Hutchison, Charlotte Graham me Lyonel Grant.
He mea tautoko te whanaketanga o tēnei whakaaturanga e Haerewa, te rōpū Tohutohu Toi Māori o Toi oTāmaki. Hei tā Elizabeth Ellis te tumu o Haerewa,‘Kua roa e tāria ana tētahi whakaaturanga tirohanga whānui pēnei te tiketike i Aotearoa, ā, e whakatinana ana i ngā wawata mō te Taiwhanga. Mā Toi Tū Toi Ora: Toi Māori o Nāianei e maea ai ngā toi moroki Māori ki ngā hāpori Māori me te marea hoki, hei whakanuitanga, hei whakahiapotanga.’
Exhibition details:
Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art
When: Saturday 5 December 2020 to 9 May 2021
10am – 5pm daily except Christmas Day
Where: Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki
Corner Kitchener and Wellesley Streets
Auckland, New Zealand
Admission: FREE
