Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art
Sat 5 Dec 2020 – Sun 9 May 2021
Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art showcases the dynamic, ever-changing expression that is Māori art. Distinct from the other art movements of Aotearoa New Zealand, contemporary Māori art occupies an unrivalled position in engaging with cultural histories and the role of Māori knowledge, and continues to invigorate discussions about identity and place.
Spanning 70 years with work by more than 100 artists, the exhibition presents contemporary Māori art as standing tall – toi tū – and healthy – toi ora – while reinforcing the wisdom and ideas that empower Māori and Indigenous ways of knowing. The exhibition is framed by the Māori creation narrative, making way for a new mode of experience. The Māori creation story speaks of our celestial origins, understood as the realm of the gods or Ira Atua. This then connects to the terrestrial realm of humankind, Ira Tangata. The artworks are presented as one connected art movement and, much like Māori culture itself, this is nuanced, vibrant and diverse.
This landmark exhibition celebrates a vast range of contemporary Māori art, including painting, sculpture, printmaking, clay-making, jewellery and body adornment, photography, digital media, film and installation art. It will also present a number of new site-specific commissions by: Mata Aho Collective collaborating with Maureen Lander; Shane Cotton; Emily Karaka; Reuben Paterson; Matekino Lawless and Christina Wirihana; Lisa Reihana; Reweti Arapere; Ngatai Taepa; Sandy Adsett; Areta Wilkinson; and more to be announced. This will be accompanied by a Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art satellite site at the Britomart precinct, developed in partnership with the Britomart Group.
The largest ever exhibition staged by Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki and free to the public, Toi Tū Toi Ora offers insights into the development of contemporary Māori art informed by a Māori worldview.
Ko Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art tiro whānui nei i te puakitanga tīremiremi o te toi Māori o nāianei. Kei te rerekē te toi Māori o nāianei ki ērā atu momo toi o Aotearoa nā te mea nōna te mana motuhake ki te paheko ki ngā hītori ahurea me te tūranga o te mātauranga Māori, nā reira e whakahihiko i ngā kōrero mō te tuakiri, mō te wāhi.
Kei te tāwhanawhana a Toi Tū Toi Ora i ngā tau 70, i ngā ringa toi 100; ko tāna he whakaatu i te kōingo, he whakatakoto i te wero, ki te whakatutuki i te wawata kia tū pakari te toi Māori – toi tū – kia tū ora hoki, kia tū tonu te mōhiotanga me te whakaaro e whāngai ai i te Māori me te mātauranga Taketake. Kei te tāpareparetia tēnei whakaaturanga ki te kōrero mō te hanganga o te ao e ai ki te Māori, nā reira kei te whakawātea te hītori toi maori e whai ai i te rārangi wā kia kitea e tātou tētahi aratau wheako hou. Ko te hanganga o te ao Māori he kōrero mō te tātai arorangi, koia te mana o ngā atua, arā o Ira Atua. Ka honotia tēnei ki te ao o te tangata, arā ko te Ira Tangata. Kei te whakaaturia ngā toi hei kaupapa kotahi, arā, pēnei i te ahurea Māori, he whakatarapī, he whakaihiihi, he kanorau te kaupapa nei.
Ka whakanuitia e Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art ngā tūmomo toi Māori moroki maha, pēnei i te waituhi, tāraitanga, tāruatanga, toi uku, tāonga pīwari, taonga whakarākei, whakaahua, toi matihiko, kiriata, me te toi puni. Ka whakaatutia hoki ētahi toi i kōmihanahia mō tētahi wāhi-tautuhi, pēnei i ngā toi a : Mata Aho Collective e mahi tahi ana ki a Maureen Lander; Shane Cotton; Sandy Adsett; Emily Karaka; Reuben Paterson; Matekino Lawless rāua ko Christina Wirihana; Lisa Reihana; Reweti Arapere; Ngatai Taepa; Areta Wilkinson; me ētahi atu kaitoi ka whakapuakina i muri nei. Tāpiri ki tēnei, ka whakatūria e Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art tētahi whare taupua ki te pokapū o Britomart, he mea whakatū i te taha o Britomart Group.
E whakaatu ana a Toi Tū Toi Ora, te whakaaturanga nui katoa a Toi o Tāmaki e utu kore nei ki te marea, i te whakawhanaketanga o te toi Māori o nāianei i waihangatia i runga i tā te Māori titiro ki te ao.
