People admire art in the exhibition. Photo / Leidy Monsalves
People admire art in the exhibition. Photo / Leidy Monsalves
The oneness of humanity was celebrated recently through a diverse art exhibition, and judges had a tough job picking award winners from all the talent displayed.
The 'He Kete Kotahi He Whenu Maha - One Basket Many Strands' art exhibition was on display this month at The Arts Village.
The main organisers Linda Tokona, Trish de Muth and Astrid Bunne Namdari say more than 80 people contributed 170 works of art.
There was a huge range of media used, including textiles, ceramics, digital work and a wide range of paintings.
There was also photography, leadlight glass, Māori weaving, pen and ink drawing, a work inspired by Navajo sand painting and assemblage metalwork from St Chads.
The Chinese community contributed a fabulous selection of traditional artwork, as well as calligraphy and some 3D works with a painting in resin inside items such as a coconut shell bowl and a paua shell.
Janet Keen's after-school art students each painted a floral or garden image with a resin finish that became a colourful grid to illustrate the 'Abdu'l-Bahá quote, "Ye are the flowers of one garden".
They say 'He Kete Kotahi, He Whenu Maha' truly reflected the diversity within the art community.
"We chose the theme of the oneness of humanity, and the beauty and strength of our diversity, with the intention it would create more awareness and understanding of difference, encouraging a discourse in Rotorua on how to contribute to a more unified society.
"This is a small step towards that goal and our aim is that this kaupapa will grow and soon show tangible positive change in our relationships to one another."
The whole exhibition was created in the honour of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, who is the son of the founder of the Baha'i Faith, Bahá'u'lláh, because they wanted something significant to mark the centenary of his passing. This anniversary was in November 2021.
'Abdu'l-Bahá particularly promoted the oneness of humanity, and was a champion for the oppressed, the poor, the ill, and the disenfranchised.
A crowd gathers for the exhibition awards. Photo / Leidy Monsalves
Trish and Astrid say it was amazing to see the exhibition come to life.
"It was so thrilling to have created such a successful exhibition. It came to fruition from the kaupapa of the unity of mankind and the strength we have when we work together.
"The execution of this exhibition has been a demonstration of this strength of diversity with a wonderful team of people pitching in to help at every stage of its evolution."
There were a range of awards given out from the exhibition, which were generously sponsored.
They say the judges had a difficult task as there was significant work of a high calibre.
The recipients of the exhibition awards were: - Toni Armstrong, the He Kete Kotahi Award - Kara Beattie, the Rotorua Multicultural Council Award - Jinshui Lin, the Supreme Deer Health Award - Ishwari Vaidya for the People's Choice Award
There were also two Youth Awards sponsored by One Chance, and two Children's Awards for Excellence sponsored by the Rotorua Baha'i Community.
A number of artists, adults, youth and children also received a highly commended award as recognition for their work.
The four judges were from across the arts community - Simone Anderson from the Incubator in Tauranga, Karolina Bermova from Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology, Dr Kin from Supreme Deer Health and Tom Hale, an artist and art teacher at Rotorua Boys High School.
Trish and Astrid hope to encourage more youth and children to contribute to this exhibition in the future, as they intend to repeat this exhibition every two years.
The Chinese community contributed a selection of traditional artwork. Photo / Leidy Monsalves
"We were pleased that a number of entrants were first-time exhibitors and this was an opportunity for them to get their work into the public view."
They thanked their many friends and supporters who promoted the project throughout the wider community.
"This has helped to make the full exhibition in March so successful. We are grateful for this assistance as this is the first exhibition with awards we have organised.
"Many artists mentioned they were thrilled to be creating work on the theme of the oneness of humanity and our diversity.
"This is very encouraging because this awareness and understanding is so needed in the world today."
They also thanked the Rotorua Multicultural Council for not only its moral support, but its practical help to make this exhibition the success it was, along with the encouragement and support from the Rotorua Baha'i Community; and Creative Rotorua and the Rotorua Civic Arts Trust for providing the funding.
