He Hītori mō ngā Whakaaturanga Whakatōpū Toi Māori o Nāianei: A History of Contemporary Māori Art Survey Exhibitions

Since the 1960s, exhibitions of contemporary Māori art curated by Māori have referenced and built upon those that have come before. Whether held in community halls, marae (meeting grounds) or in public galleries, Māori curators have sought to closely reflect the concerns and views of the artists in their exhibitions and their communities.

This Māori authorship and agency is evidenced by centring a Māori worldview in the conceptual and interpretative frameworks of their exhibitions.

Prior to the professional appointment of Māori curators within art institutions, Māori artists initiated and led the curation of Māori art exhibitions. Ngā Puna Waihanga, a society of Māori artists and writers established in 1973, was a driving force in exhibition making and arts advocacy for over 20 years. Māori-centred art programmes established by influential leaders, themselves significant artists, have held landmark exhibitions. Catalogue texts serve as manifestos for their distinct approach and ethos to art and exhibition making.

Throughout our building, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki presents Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art curated by Nigel Borell, curator Māori art. This is a survey exhibition of contemporary Māori art which acknowledges the foundational work of others and seeks to contribute to this whakapapa (genealogy) of Māori curatorship.

 

Mai i ngā tekautau 1960, kua tohutoroa, kua tāpirihia ētahi anō āhuatanga e ngā whakaaturanga toi Māori o nāianei i rauhīa ai e te Māori. Ahakoa whakatūria ai ki te hōro hapori, ki te marae, ki te whare whakairi toi tūmatanui, ko te aronga o te kairauhī Māori he whakaata i ngā nawe me te tirohanga o te ringa toi i ō rātou whakaaturanga, i ā rātou hapori.

Kitea ai te pūtake Māori, te mana Māori, i roto i te tirohanga Māori i ngā anga ā-ariā, ā-whakamāori o ō rātou whakaaturanga.

I mua i te whakatūnga ngaio i ngā kairauhī Māori i roto i ngā whare mahi toi, nā ngā ringa toi Māori anō ngā whakaaturanga toi Māori i whakatū, i rauhī. Ko tētahi rōpū whakakoke i te whakatū whakaaturanga, i te tautoko mahi toi i ngā tau 20 neke atu, ko Ngā Puna Waihanga, he kāhui ringa toi, ringa tuhi Māori, i whakatūria ai i te tau 1973. Kua whakatūria ētahi whakaaturanga whakaumu kaupapa toi Māori e ngā kaihautū whai mana, he mātanga toi rātou anō. Ko aua rārangi tuhinga he whakapuakitanga i tā rātou ahunga ahurei, i tā rātou mauri e pā ana ki te kaupapa toi me te whakatū whakaaturanga.

Huri noa i tō tātou whare, kei te whakaaturia e te Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, te Toi Tū Toi Ora: Te Toi Māori o Nāianei i rauhīa e Nigel Borell, he kairauhī o te toi Māori. Ko tēnei he whakaaturanga whakatōpū toi Māori e mihi atu ai i ngā mahi tumu a ētahi, ā, ko tāna he tāpiri atu ki tēnei whakapapa o te rauhītanga Māori.

 

Image credit: National Publicity Studios, Cliff Whiting and Para Matchitt setting up Contemporary Maori Painting and Sculpture at the second Māori Festival of the Arts, St Paul’s Methodist Centre Hamilton, 1966. Courtesy of Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga.