Moana Waiwai Moana Pāti can be poetically translated as From Open Seas to Shallow Waters. It is a phrase that alludes to all that is experienced - both difficult and hopeful - when navigating challenging conditions. In what has been an exceptional year for humanity across the globe, it feels a fitting metaphor to consider the work of artists exhibiting and participating in the Fale-ship programme in 2021. This project is an ongoing Tautai initiative to support Moana artists to make, create and connect in the time of the pandemic. In-so-doing it allows for that most vital of functions: supporting our artist's and their artmaking to be present and to have a voice.

Collectively these artists present ideas that express aspirations, reflections and experiences that mark this moment in time. From moving image to poetic prose from sonic landscapes to Moana manifestos - the presentations here remind us of the diverse and multifaceted ways in which Moana creatives express their relationship to place and people. These changing tides, as rocky as they may have been, also bring with them opportunity for new journeys and experiences.

The work of the artists in Moana Waiwai Moana Pāti are a testament to the power of that renewal.