Wāhine Māori

He Kaupapa porotēhi tēnei, hei wāhi porotēhi hei wāhi whakamana i te Tino Rangatiranga. Hei kaupapa whāngai kōrero, whakatakoto whakaaro e pā ana ki ngā kino kua puta i te tāmitanga nui a te ao pākehā me ngā rongoā e puta ai tātou i tērā tāmitanga.

E kī katoa ana te whakaaturanga nei ki ngā momo kaitoi katoa, he kaitārai, he kaihanga kākahu, he kaipeita, he kairaranga, otirā ko te katoa o ā rātou mahi he mea hāngai ki te kura o te ātetenga, te manawa o te toa. E whakatinana ana tēnei whakaaturanga i te koha nui a ngā wāhine Māori ki te whakapapa o te hītoria me ngā toi o Aotearoa. Ka whakamahia e rātou ngā momo toi katoa hei rautaki āki i te tāmitanga i pā ki a rātou me ō rātou whānau me ā rātou tamariki.

“Ngā kōrero tukuiho, ngā kare ā-roto o te tangata, ka kitea katoatia i roto i ngā toi o tēnei whakaaturanga” te kī a Suzanne Tamaki, otirā rātou katoa ko ngā poutoi a Robyn Kahukiwa, a Tracey Tawhiao mā, e hīkaka katoa ana ki te Pōwhiri i ngā tāngata maha ki tēnei whakaaturanga o Wāhine Māori: Te Toi o te Ātetenga.

Wāhine Activist Art is a platform to protest and highlight Te Tino Rangatiratanga. It provides an opportunity to educate, visualise and create dialogue through art. An element of the work by this alliance of Wāhine addresses trauma created in response to colonisation’s ongoing effects.

Featuring an impressive group of multi-disciplinary artists working across photography, sculpture, fashion, weaving and paint, the works are grounded in activism. This exhibition is a representation of the contribution of Wāhine Māori to the whakapapa that is Aotearoa art history. These Wāhine use art as a tool to highlight the injustices imposed upon themselves; me tō rātou uri me tō rātou whānau hoki.

“Cultural narratives and self-expression are seen through ngā toi tirohanga in this exhibition of protest.” said Suzanne Tamaki and along with fellow curators Robyn Kahuklwa and Tracey Tawhiao she looks forward to welcoming everyone to the Wāhine Māori: The Art of Resistance exhibition.

Presented from Wed 14 September to Sunday 9 October Keep an eye out for talks and school events about the exhibition and the artists.

Exhibiting Artists: Robyn Kahukiwa Kura Te Waru Dianne Prince Linda Munn Natalie Robertson Ngahina Hohaia Andrea Hopkins Tāwera Tahuri Suzanne Tamaki

Charlotte Graham Tracey Tawhiao