New Plymouth Govett-Brewster Art Gallery’s new exhibition showcases toi Māori

Ngahina Hohaia's 'Roimata Toroa'. from the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery collection. Photo / Bryan James.

A new exhibition of toi Māori from New Plymouth District Council’s Govett-Brewster Art Gallery Collection will showcase more than 50 years of contemporary Māori art practice.

Te Hau Whakatonu — A Series of Never-Ending Beginnings includes works by Māori artists represented in the gallery’s permanent collection, alongside two new commissions by Ngahina Hohaia and George Watson as well as Brett Graham’s Cease Tide of Wrong-Doing (2020), which the gallery is fundraising to add to the collection.

Exhibition curator Taarati Taiaroa (Te Āti Awa, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Apa) says the exhibition will celebrate and activate toi Māori from the collection.

“The gallery’s modest holding of toi Māori reflects its exhibition histories, relationships with artists and shifting priorities, and this exhibition is a means to set a foundation to help inform the forward focus of toi Māori at the gallery and in the collection.”

This is Taarati’s first curated exhibition in the newly established Govett-Brewster role of ringahāpai kaitakatū ngā toi Māori/assistant curator contemporary Māori art.

The exhibition’s title, Te Hau Whakatonu, was given by Te Ingo Ngaia, a member of the Māori leadership group for the gallery, He Whiringa Toi. Hau is the vital essence, life force, breath, to be heard. It is the sign of life — that something is living.

The subtitle, A Series of Never-Ending Beginnings, is a phrase used by Māori rights advocate and leader Moana Jackson to describe whakapapa and storytelling in the Māori intellectual tradition.

He Whiringa Toi chair Wharehoka Wano says He Whiringa Toi works with the Gallery team to prioritise Māori artists, works and stories.

“This exhibition and associated conversations are important steps in growing our tribal presence and voice in the gallery, and in the wider community.”

Gallery ringatohu/director Dr Zara Stanhope says the exhibition is a valuable reflection point for the gallery’s permanent collection.

“We take seriously the priority of ensuring ours is a living collection, which supports the activation of a perpetual series of beginnings for works as society changes. This project is a significant reflection on how the collection continues to reflect lived meaning for artists, communities, and those who engage with the gallery now and into the future.”

The exhibition is supported by a range of other activities including a series of whaiwhakaaro — public conversations led by invited community members, cultural leaders, and artists. Opening weekend also features a free events programme as a number of exhibiting artists activate kōrero between works through the gallery spaces.

On opening day (August 5) artists Ayesha Green, Tia Ranginui, Brett Graham, Ngahina Hohaia, Darcy Nicholas and Wharehoka Smith will take part in group discussions. On Sunday, August 6, join exhibition artist Green to create a picture-book drawing inspired by your memory.

The Details:

What: Te Hau Whakatonu — A Series of Never-Ending Beginnings

When: August 5 to February 11, 2024

Where: Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, 42 Queen St, New Plymouth

Other: Artist talks August 5: Ayesha Green and Tia Ranginui (10.30am), Brett Graham and Ngahina Hohaia (1pm) and Darcy Nicholas and Wharehoka Smith (2.30pm)