Si’oto’ofa! Tautai is proud to announce it’s first exhibition of 2021. Voyagers: The Niu World. Created by Sulieti Fieme’a Burrows and Tui Emma Gillies.
We had such an incredible night celebrating and hosting our community at the opening of the MOANA WALL! A collaboration between Tautai and Link Alliance. https://youtu.be/wCRbMgHAINs Check out the incredible work of Natasha Ratuva and Hōhua Kurene, on show ...
We had such an incredible night celebrating and hosting our community at the opening of the MOANA WALL! A collaboration between ...
Raised in Fiji, multi-media creative Natasha is one of the two artists behind Tautai x Link Alliance’s MOANA WALL
Pōneke born photographer and multi-media artist Hōhua, is one of two creatives behind Tautai x Link Alliance’s project the MOANA WALL
SALTWATER / Interconnectivity artist Shawnee Tekii describes the political element of her practice and how participation activates her work
SALTWATER / Interconnectivity artist and curator Katharine Losi Atafu-Mayo gives us an insight into her work, which presents the moana as a site of connection.
SALTWATER / Interconnectivity artist Te Ara Minhinnick shares how her work helps her to learn more about her whakapapa and her whenua
Highlights from our SALTWATER / Interconnectivity opening held on Thursday 15 October at TAUTAI Gallery with our beautiful arts community and family!
Fakaue lahi to everyone who came through to support, witness and celebrate an incredible exhibition SALTWATER / Interconnectivity. Check out photo’s from the opening here!
Meet the Curators: Introducing the co-curators of our current exhibition, Katharine Losi Atafu-Mayo and Giles Peterson!
Performances: For Artweek 2020 Tautai will be showcasing three performances which highlight the essence of the current exhibition SALTWATER/Interconnectivity.
SALTWATER/Interconnectivity: First Nations digital artist and filmmaker Gutiŋarra was born deaf, his art represents a powerful and positive message of living with disability.
SALTWATER/Interconnectivity: The work of Te Ara Minhinnick centres around the alliances of people, space, and place, stemming from her Ipu Karea – the ancestral homelands of her Iwi, Ngāti Te Ata.
SALTWATER/Interconnectivity: Shawnee Tekii uses art as a tool to create social engagement. Often tackling the political issues that surround the community.
SALTWATER/Interconnectivity: Peter Elavera’s style of work is a fusion of pop art, street graffiti art, elements and principles of graphic design, symbolism, patterns and fine arts.
SALTWATER/Interconnectivity: Samoan artist Katharine Losi is drawn to practices centred around healing and ritual, promoting the use of indigenous and creative methodologies.
SALTWATER/Interconnectivity: A Tongan multi-disciplinary artist never afraid to experiment and develop his practice, beautifully combining tradition with the contemporary.
Cora-Allan Wickliffe talks about the revival of Niuean hiapo is a tradition that will be passed onto her children and the next generations to come.
Tautai Director Courtney Sina Meredith waxes lyrical about our niu era
– Tui Emma Gillies & Sulieti Fieme’a Burrows
“The waves have never been bigger or more threatening, the storms have never been so savage, the fires have never been so close and hot. And we are expressing this in the medium we were brought up in, tapa painting, which has been passed down from generation to generation by those people who made the original voyages and their ancestors before them. This exhibition is dedicated to all us Voyagers navigating The Niu World.”
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– Courtney Sina Meredith
“WELCOME TO THE FUTURE – you have finally arrived where we have always been – and it is breathtakingly beautiful.”
Moana Wall curated by Cora-Allan Wickliffe
Video by No Six
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Titled Inside The Wave Are Ocean Bodies will be the first mural displayed on the Moana Wall by Hōhua Ropate Kurene and Natasha Ratuva. Curated by Cora-Allan Wickliffe, this piece will be able to be viewed from the East St Hoardings from
4 December 2020 – April 2021
Ni sa bula vinaka, Natasha Ratuva (her/she) is an Indigenous digital artist and creative from Naioti, Kadavu and Bua on her maternal side. She was born and raised in Fiji and came to Tāmaki in 2012. Natasha is honoured to work in Aotearoa and celebrates her ancient ties to tangata whenua as Moana peoples. Creating as an unconquerable sum of both beautiful lineages, she is eternally grateful for her place amongst her ancestors past, present and future that are constantly referred to in her creative work. Natasha gives a special vinaka vakalevu to her parents and brothers Joji and Jone, who she learns from everyday and together share in the feast of their ancestral knowledge.
Natasha Online:
Instagram: dotnut2014
More Information:
MOANA WALL, 4 December 2020 – April 2021
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Titled Inside The Wave Are Ocean Bodies will be the first mural displayed on the Moana Wall by Hōhua Ropate Kurene and Natasha Ratuva. Curated by Cora-Allan Wickliffe, this piece will be able to be viewed from the East St Hoardings from
4 December 2020 – April 2021
Talofa Lava, Hōhua Ropate Kurene (he/him) is a queer Indigenous artist specialising in photography, multimedia design & creative writing. He is of mixed Samoan, Māori & Afro-European heritage. Originally born in Porirua, Hōhua was raised in his Father’s village Luatuanu’u Samoa, and later in his Mother’s birthplace Ōtautahi, Aotearoa. Hōhua currently calls Tāmaki Makaurau his home under the guidance of his Arts Aiga the Fafswag Arts Collective and wider Tāmaki Whanau.
Hōhua Online:
Instagram: hohua
More Information:
MOANA WALL, 4 December 2020 – April 2021
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“…I like to think of myself as that middleman, messenger, just trying to get stories out to the public.”
– Shawnee Tekii
SALTWATER / Interconnectivity is on at Tautai Gallery till 30 January, 2021
<< Stay tuned for more Artists Spotlights from SALTWATER / Interconnectivity >>
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An outdoor exhibition space located on East Street’s hoardings surrounding the Karangahape Station construction site. Tautai will curate and project manage the outdoor exhibitions from 2020 – 2023. The 70m hoardings will be transformed into the MOANA WALL using the existing infrastructure as a canvas that highlights contemporary Pasifika artists and celebrates the diverse community of Karangahape Road.
The MOANA WALL aims to highlight a significant era of Karangahape Road’s history and its lasting connection to Pasifika communities today.
The grand opening will be held on Friday 4 December celebrating its first exhibition Inside the wave are ocean bodies by artists Natasha Ratuva and Hōhua Ropate Kurene, curated by Cora-Allan Wickliffe. The exhibition will remain until April 2021.
‘This new site specific work is an exploration of the crucial mechanisms that inform our connections as Moana communities. Through photographic, digital media and poetry Hōhua and Natasha created a narrative that celebrates the connections of their Fiji, Samoan and Māori whakapapa.’
On Friday 4 December we will reveal the MOANA WALL to the public for the first time, followed by an evening of outdoor festivities on East Street which includes food stalls, live performances and more!
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“I want people to exchange with the moana….”
Katharine Losi Atafu-Mayo
SALTWATER / Interconnectivity is on at Tautai Gallery till 30 January, 2021
<< Stay tuned for more Artists Spotlights from SALTWATER / Interconnectivity >>
For further information please email us
Tautai.org #tautai4lyfe
“If you asked me ‘What are the waterways to you?” I’d answer you and say they’re like the blood of my ancestors.”
– Te Ara Minhinnick
SALTWATER / Interconnectivity is on at Tautai Gallery till 30 January, 2021
<< Stay tuned for more Artists Spotlights from SALTWATER / Interconnectivity >>
For further information please email us
Tautai.org #tautai4lyfe
Video by No Six
SALTWATER / Interconnectivity runs until January 30, 2021
Gallery Hours: Mon – Fri, 11am – 4pm
For more information please email us.
Tautai.org #tautai4lyfe
Check out the photo gallery’s below!
“SALTWATER/Interconnectivity foretells Tautai’s ongoing commitment to artists from Te Moana Nui a Kiwa. Presenting an understanding of reality in the present – within urban and sacred realms: the ever-flowing Moana/Solwara connects us all.”
– Courtney Sina Meredith, Tautai Director
All Photos by Isoa Kavakimotu
SALTWATER / Interconnectivity is on at Tautai Gallery till January 30, 2021
Gallery Hours: 11am – 4pm
For further information please email us
Tautai.org #tautai4lyfe
Video by NoSix
SALTWATER / Interconnectivity is on at Tautai Gallery until January 30, 2021
Gallery Hours: Mon – Fri, 11am – 4pm
For further information please email us
Tautai.org #tautai4lyfe
An innovator of the contemporary Pasifika art scene, a long-standing member of the art collective Pacific Sisters, and founding member of the SaVAge K’lub. Raymond’s practice works with people, spaces and things to acti.VA.te a dynamic relationship between them, to realise and reshape the ta-va duality.
South Auckland based indigenous environmentalist group of youth who are committed to advocating against climate change through the lens that considers minorities.
We rise for and ride out 4 Tha Kulture
Humiliation in return for Forgiveness.
Accept it or not.
LALO (below) takes you through the Samoan custom ‘Ifoga’. A formal apology where one seeks forgiveness from another by bowing down and humbling themselves. The offender appears covered in an ‘ie toga’ (fine mat). The only way forgiveness is granted is if the victim lifts the ‘ie toga from the offender.
More Information:
SALTWATER/Interconnectivity, 15 October 2020 – 30 January 2021
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Gutiŋarra Yunupiŋu (b. 1997, lives and works in Yirrkala, NT, Australia) is an Indigenous artist of the Gumatj clan, Yirritja moiety, and Buymarr homeland, working with film and digital media to capture the stories of his kin. Despite being deaf since birth he has managed to overcome many barriers. From 2015 he
has worked at The Mulka Project in Yirrkala, as a Project Officer and filmmaker, often travelling out to Yolŋu homelands where he regularly films cultural ceremonies and events.
Gutiŋarra was awarded the 2019 Telstra NATSIAA Multimedia Award for his 6k filmwork Gurruṯu mi’ mala (My Connections) which demonstrates his connections to his people and his country through the Yolŋu kinship-system of gurruṯu. In this
artwork he reveals his position in the world of gurruṯu through his first language, barrkuŋu waŋa (language from a distance) Yolŋu sign language. Gurruṯu’mi mala was also exhibited at AGSA as part of Tarnanthi 2019 and has received great interest due to the fascinating concept underlying this art piece and his history as a film maker and artist. 2019 was an exceptional year for Gutiŋarra as he was also a finalist for the NT Young Australian of the Year Awards.
“Gurruṯu’mi Mala demonstrates my connections to my family, my people and my country through the Yolŋu kinship system of gurruṯu. Gurruṯu not only links me to my clan and my homeland, but to all clans and their homelands. Gurruṯu dictates my connections and relationships to all Yolŋu… past, present and future.”
– Gutiŋarra Yunupiŋu
Gutiŋarra Online:
Instagram: The Mulka Project
More Information:
SALTWATER/Interconnectivity, 15 October 2020 – 30 January 2021
For further information please email us.
Tautai.org #tautai4lyfe
Mehemea ka pātai mai koe ki ahau;
“He aha Te Awa o Waikato ki a koe?”
Māku e kī atu, he rite tonu ki te toto o ōku tūpuna.
The work of Te Ara Minhinnick centres around the alliances of people, space, and place, stemming from her Ipu Karea – the ancestral homelands of her Iwi, Ngāti Te Ata. Te Ara emphasises a responsibility in this by employing methods of practice that offer ‘wayfinding’ vessels into the contemporary realities of Mātauranga Māori.
Te Ara grew up often scolded by her aunties for playing bull rush out the front of her Marāe in Waiuku. She is a Kohanga and Kura Kaupapa Māori pēpi. Who is now, currently undertaking a Masters of Fine Arts at Whitecliffe College. Most recently, Te Ara facilitated a series of wānanga for her first solo show titled TAU (to find grounding) at Audio Foundation.
Te Ara Online:
Website: tearaminhinnick.com | Instagram: te__ara
More Information:
SALTWATER/Interconnectivity, 15 October 2020 – 30 January 2021
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Shawnee Tekii uses art as a tool to create social engagement. Often tackling the political issues that surround the community. The digital age plays a large role in underpinning her practice. Shawnee’s work is often influenced by mainstream media and through the use of bold aesthetics and Instagram worthy graphics, she aims to communicate her political agenda directly to audiences of her generation. Her work encourages the use of mobile phones to either document or activate deeper conceptual content. She often draws inspiration from graphic design in advertising and branding – resulting in bold, attention seeking works.
“The development of social media and data configuration has influenced how we react, think, move and perceive the world.”
Shawnee Tekii
Shawnee Online:
Website: shawneetekii.com | Instagram: shawneetekii
More Information:
SALTWATER/Interconnectivity, 15 October 2020 – 30 January 2021
For further information please email us.
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Peter Elavera’s style of work is a fusion of pop art, street graffiti art, elements and principles of graphic design, symbolism, patterns and fine arts.
He is currently a leader in modern contemporary urban street art in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea (PNG). His artwork incorporates social activism statements on issues of injustice, inequality and conservation of the natural environment. His interest in harnessing the potency of street art, and enhancing its application started in 2007.
“UNITY WALL mural art encapsulates the political, economic and social narratives of PNG in its short accounted history”
Peter Elavera
Recently, Peter and his crew, known as the Kamilion Art Krew (KAKS), completed a massive sports stadium wall mural, measuring 769m in circumference in Port Moresby. The sports stadium, known locally as Sir Hubert Murray Stadium, took them 12-months to complete (October of 2018 – October 2019).
Currently Peter and his crew are working on an 800m long sea-wall mural project, in Port Moresby, under the theme, Radioactive Ocean. It brings awareness to conservation of ocean and marine life.
Peter received his art and design mentoring at the Creative Arts Faculty of the University of Papua New Guinea, and graduated in 1996, majoring in Graphic Design.
Peter Online:
Facebook: Peter Elavera | Instagram: freewestpapua
More Information:
SALTWATER/Interconnectivity, 15 October 2020 – 30 January 2021
For further information please email us.
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feso’ota’i atu
po, po, po,
manava i totonu;
may this space light the fire within you that has been extinguished,
may your peace that’s been disrupted find harmony in all living things,
may your tino, mafaufau, and agaga feel held,
I invite you to just be in this space of interconnectedness;
remember, navigate, reflect, meditate, thank,
manava i totonu;
exchange your love, your rage, your energy, your joy, your distaste, your healing;
share what you must with the Moana.
They will be returned with what you pour into them.
we are connected, we are profound, we are resilient, we are powerful,
manava i totonu;
po, po, po.
Katharine Losi is a devoted daughter, sister and godmother with a beautiful vessel that houses her resilient soul, powerful heart and unshakeable spirit… that’s on PERIYAD! Her social art practice is an evolving ecosystem of Moana healing methodologies, spirituality, community engagement and is grounded in unconditional love. By confronting cultural norms, societal expectations and systematic oppressions; Katharine Losi uses her lived experiences to create an alternative way of operating and living in our everyday. CHE CHE CHEEHOO!
Katharine Losi Online:
Facebook: Katharine Atafu-Mayo | Instagram: kattymayo
More Information:
SALTWATER/Interconnectivity, 15 October 2020 – 30 January 2021
For further information please email us.
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Telly Tuita was born in Tonga in 1980 and immigrated to Brisbane, Australia in 1989. In 2017, Telly immigrated to Lyall Bay, Wellington, NZ. Telly has a Bachelor of Fine Art from Western Sydney University, a Bachelor of Art Education from the University of New South Wales, and a Masters in Special Education through the University of Sydney. Telly has been and a High School art teacher, a Special education teacher and an Assistant Principal at Green Square School primary school and community centre (2015 – 2017).
After working in education Telly returned to art making, full time. Telly Tuita’s art practice encompasses painting, printmaking, sculpture, installation, photo media and performance. He has exhibited in exhibitions in Australia and New Zealand, and has work in the collection of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Telly’s installation titled I LEFT MY HEART IN TONGPOP showcases ten years of a body of work that carries the spirit of Oceania.
“I collect items and iconography that connect with personal narratives and idealised views of places from the past.”
Telly Tuita
Telly Online
Instagram: @tellytuita
More Information:
SALTWATER/Interconnectivity, 15 October 2020 – 30 January 2021
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Co-curators Katharine Losi Atafu-Mayo and Giles Peterson have transformed the Tautai Gallery to embody the Moana/Solwara worldview with SALTWATER/Interconnectivity on until January 30, 2021.
Peterson references the late Teresia Teaiwa, ‘she summed it up so well – we sweat and cry salt water, so we know that the ocean is really in our blood – this is the key ingredient for the building blocks of life, it’s also the essence of who we are and captures the incredible journey of navigating the Moana / Solwara.’ Atafu-Mayo and Peterson understand fully the flow of life, the two first meeting as teacher and student. ‘I taught Kat but I find myself learning so much from her, it really has been quite incredible, she’s amazing,’ he says of their collaboration.
The six exhibiting artists are drawn from Aotearoa and across Te Moana Nui a Kiwa; – Peter Elavera, Katharine Losi Atafu-Mayo, Te Ara Minhinnick, Shawnee Tekii, Telly Tuita and Gutiŋarra Yunupiŋu. Their lived experiences magnified through the largeness of the exhibition.
‘We’re using a grand scale to highlight its focus from our incredible artists and that will be apparent to those visiting the show,’ says Peterson and Atafu-Mayo. The curators are excited that the show’s narratives around social justice, equity, gender and sexuality identity, climate change, language diaspora and ancestral knowledge are viewed uniquely through a Moana / Solwara worldview.
SALTWATER / Interconnectivity runs until January 30, 2021
Gallery Hours: Mon – Fri, 11am – 4pm
For further information please email us
Tautai.org #tautai4lyfe
– Cora-Allan Wickliffe
“It’s energy giving to me! Hiapo is a practise that fills me with energy, and I’m happy when I make it because my son enjoys watching me make my work. If I can have my little one sitting on my lap while I beat (hiapo), it’s a pretty good day!”
Moana Legacy has now ended.
Click here for more Cora-Allan!
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“This is our space, this is our time and this is our opportunity.”
– Courtney Sina Meredith
Stay Creative, Stay Connected!
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6th July – 18th September, 2020
Tautai Gallery Mon – Fri 11am – 4pm
Moana Legacy is Tautai’s first exhibition in its new gallery space, the show has been developed from an existing partnership with Blak Dot Gallery, Naarm (Melbourne) featuring moana artists working in both Aotearoa and Australia. Continuing the conversation in Tautai’s new expanded space in the heart of Auckland, this show offers up assorted approaches to the idea of legacy.
As artists of the moana, one often looks back to move forward, contemplating the connections to ancestors and finding a place within a narrative that is as deep as the ocean itself. Our ancestors left behind stories of legend with impressive characters, some continue to shape our contemporary stories of today.
A legacy is the story of someone’s life, it is something that a person leaves behind to be remembered. Legacies are pathways that guide people with their own decision-making – inspiring them to build a legacy of their own.
With this in mind, the artists in this exhibition investigate notions of legacy and their link to the moana. Featuring photography, installation, video, sculpture, hiapo and painting, Moana Legacy is a celebration of our own legacies and what it means to be an artist of the Pacific
Curated by Cora-Allan Wickliffe, this show features Ahsin Ahsin, Cora-Allan Wickliffe & Kelly Lafaiki, Gina Ropiha, Israel Randell, Mereani Qalovakawasa, Naawie Tutugoro, Rangituhia Hollis and Talia Smith.
Moana Legacy runs from 6 July – 18 September, 2020.
Moana Legacy has now ended.
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