"Untruth motivates me to create and even though art is open to interpretation, it teaches us to think outside the box and to question everything instead of believing everything we see and read."
He said he wanted the community to be empowered by his show, to know that any individual had the power to make change and that when a community stood together on issues it stood strong.
Mr Staite said musicians would perform protest pieces and a visual display of footage from the TPP protest march in Auckland and the Greenpeace Real Climate Action protest.
"Effectively my exhibition is a call to action.
"Art is a form of protest within itself and I'm encouraging individuals to actively engage with their creative side, to express themselves freely on issues they deem important."
He said he only got seriously involved in art about three years ago, when it meant standing up for his whenua by engaging in direct action to stop the Rotorua Eastern Arterial from going over the top of his land.
"Ever since then my art has taken me on a spiritual journey which has led me to The Art of Protest through activism work."
He told the Rotorua Daily Post yesterday he shed a tear on hearing the Eastern Arterial has been scrapped and the designation over the land would be lifted.
Stephen Arthur's exhibition Artscapes also opened last night at the Arts Village. Both exhibitions are on show until April 30.
-The Arts Village is open 9am to 4.30pm Monday to Friday, and 10am to 2pm on Saturday.
