Fafetu exhibition at Whangārei Art Museum features Tuvalu artists

Tuvaluan master artist Lakiloko Keakea's work will be displayed at Whangārei Art Museum from this weekend. Photo / Samuel Hartnett courtesy of Objectspace

This weekend will see 40 women from Tuvalu and accompanying men with drums descend on Whangārei in traditional dress to open a kaleidoscopic exhibition at the Whangārei Art Museum (WAM).

The Fafetu exhibition begins Saturday and will comprise brightly-coloured woven pattern star shapes created by Tuvaluan master artist Lakiloko Keakea and the Tuvaluan group Fafine Niutao I Aotearoa.

Members of Fafine Niutao I Aotearoa, whose work will be on display. Photo / Samuel Hartnett courtesy of Objectspace

Fafetu translates to "star" in Tuvaluan. The creations are hand-woven from a mix of materials such as wool, synthetic ribbon, cloth and plastic and there will be 40 unique works on display.

Keakea was born in Tuvalu in 1949, moving to New Zealand in 1996 and is a key member of West Auckland-based women's arts collective Fafine Niutao I Aotearoa.

This is the first major solo exhibition of Keakea's work building on a practice of over five decades and is accompanied by a number of papa (plain mats) created by the group.

Work by master weaver Lakiloko Keakea and female arts collective Fafine Niutao I Aotearoa. Photo / Samuel Hartnett courtesy of Objectspace

Fafetu highlights and celebrates artforms that are valued and used within the living Tuvalu communities and cultural contexts in Aotearoa. It also seeks to revitalise and strengthen the transmission of the knowledge and making practices of these art forms for younger generations of Tuvalu women in Aotearoa.

The gallery itself will also be transformed with woven matts covering the entire floor and WAM spokesman Greg Hay said it will be "very colourful and busy".

"I think the exhibition brings greater cultural diversity to the region and examples of Pasifika art and culture which are not often seen here. Pasifika culture is such an important part of our identity as a nation and to be able to showcase this through art gives us all an opportunity to engage with this on a different level.

"It's not often we get such a display of Pacific culture in Whangārei and we are inviting members of the community down to the gallery to celebrate and enjoy the opening with us."

The exhibition, which runs from February 27 until May 23 at The Hub-based art museum, is a touring show developed by Objectspace, a public gallery in Auckland dedicated to craft, design and architecture. While the show has exhibited before around the country, it is a first for Northland.

The exhibition begins with a powhiri at 1pm followed by an opening ceremony which will be a "fusion of cultures".