Te rūnanga whakairo
2023 Whakairo National Hui
Tēnā koutou katoa,
For the first time in more than twenty years, Te Rūnanga Whakairo reconvened to evaluate the current landscape for their practice and ensure the continuity of excellence in their art form.
Hosted by Te Puia and the National Māori Arts and Crafts Institute, the 110 attendees included esteemed tohunga whakairo, experienced ringatoi and talented tauira representing Māori carving strongholds from across Aotearoa, and delegates from iwi organisations, tertiary institutions, independent organisations and government agencies who champion Māori carvers.
And what a hui! Intense, provocative, inspiring and exhilarating, we saw a coming together of proud leaders who shoulder responsibility for the perpetuity of whakairo and are unwavering in their commitment to the legacy established by our tīpuna.
As the national Māori carvers committee of Toi Māori Aotearoa, Te Rūnanga Whakairo have identified strong relationships across the national Māori carving community as critical to our ongoing success, particularly given the diversification of opportunities in recent years. As such, whakawhanaungatanga was our focus for the hui and the success of this gathering was due to the calibre of artists in attendance, the diversity of presentations, your willingness to share expertise, experience and insights, and the camaraderie cultivated among the group.
Certainly, the hui radiated with the excellence and well-being of whakairo in Aotearoa, stimulated pride and inspiration in ourselves and gave confidence to all in attendance about the future of whakairo in Aotearoa.
Our poroporoaki confirmed the value of the network in the room and the resolution to reconvene—‘tools in hand’—at the earliest opportunity, and stay tuned for updates.
The working group would like to acknowledge the support of Toi Māori Aotearoa in the development and delivery of the hui, our hosts, Te Puia, New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute and Te Kuirau marae, the generous sponsorship of Te Puni Kōkiri Rotorua office and the support of Te Māori Manaaki Taonga Trust and Oratia Media.
Nō reira e ngā mana, e ngā reo
Tēnā koutou katoa
Rangi Kipa (Chair), Kereti Rautangata, Lyonel Grant, Bernard Makoare, Fayne Robinson, Stacy Gordine, Eugene Kara
Te rūnanga whakairo
2023 Whakairo National Hui
2023 Whakairo National Hui
Tēnā koutou katoa,
For the first time in more than twenty years, Te Rūnanga Whakairo reconvened to evaluate the current landscape for their practice and ensure the continuity of excellence in their art form.
Hosted by Te Puia and the National Māori Arts and Crafts Institute, the 110 attendees included esteemed tohunga whakairo, experienced ringatoi and talented tauira representing Māori carving strongholds from across Aotearoa, and delegates from iwi organisations, tertiary institutions, independent organisations and government agencies who champion Māori carvers.
And what a hui! Intense, provocative, inspiring and exhilarating, we saw a coming together of proud leaders who shoulder responsibility for the perpetuity of whakairo and are unwavering in their commitment to the legacy established by our tīpuna.
As the national Māori carvers committee of Toi Māori Aotearoa, Te Rūnanga Whakairo have identified strong relationships across the national Māori carving community as critical to our ongoing success, particularly given the diversification of opportunities in recent years. As such, whakawhanaungatanga was our focus for the hui and the success of this gathering was due to the calibre of artists in attendance, the diversity of presentations, your willingness to share expertise, experience and insights, and the camaraderie cultivated among the group.
Certainly, the hui radiated with the excellence and well-being of whakairo in Aotearoa, stimulated pride and inspiration in ourselves and gave confidence to all in attendance about the future of whakairo in Aotearoa.
Our poroporoaki confirmed the value of the network in the room and the resolution to reconvene—‘tools in hand’—at the earliest opportunity, and stay tuned for updates.
The working group would like to acknowledge the support of Toi Māori Aotearoa in the development and delivery of the hui, our hosts, Te Puia, New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute and Te Kuirau marae, the generous sponsorship of Te Puni Kōkiri Rotorua office and the support of Te Māori Manaaki Taonga Trust and Oratia Media.
Nō reira e ngā mana, e ngā reo
Tēnā koutou katoa
Rangi Kipa (Chair), Kereti Rautangata, Lyonel Grant, Bernard Makoare, Fayne Robinson, Stacy Gordine, Eugene Kara
Te Māori Award: Presentation to Distinguished Professor Sir Hirini Moko Mead
Te Māori Manaaki Taonga Trust, with the support of Toi Māori Aotearoa and Te Rūnanga Whakairo, presented Distinguished Professor Sir Hirini Moko Mead with Tiki Matua and the waka huia, Te Toi Aroha, made by 2019 Manaaki Taonga Awardee Lewis Gardiner with assistance from Joel Marsters, as the recipient of the Te Māori Award at the 2023 Whakairo National Hui at Te Puia.
This award acknowledges the impact of Mead’s scholarship as curator of Te Māori, which accorded Māori art the status of one of the world’s great art traditions, irrevocably changed the perception of Māori art and culture in Aotearoa and made a landmark contribution to Māori art history.
On receiving the award, Distinguished Professor Sir Hirini Moko Mead took the opportunity to address the carvers and emphasised the significant role that their work had to play in contemporary Māori society:
I marvel, really, at one of the great achievements of the artists of Te Ao Kōhatu, and the things they did with the simple tools that they had. They produced a fully decorated pataka, that is a really strikingly beautiful piece of art work … But then they produced one of the greatest treasures that we are still enjoying today … And that’s the fully carved meeting house—just think about it—a really beautiful view of the Māori world … [And] it’s the concept that I want you to think about, the concept of a really beautiful Ao Māori is in that whare, beautifully done. And people love that concept. When they come into a whare like that, fully decorated, they feel at peace.
Now, our artists, I think, did concentrate on beauty, on beautifying the Māori world. And you think back, it was a tough world in those days, a hard world, and what the artists did was to brighten that up.
And of course, all of that was taken over by tauihu—well I call them taku ihu—coming in with their ideas of what good art is, changed our whole world, almost upside-down, and we’ve had to try and get the waka back, kia kore ai e titahi.
And so you have very important work to do … and how do we put you to work to bring a bit of beauty back to our lives, and to bring, not only the beauty but also the will, the intellect, the skill to bring the changes today and tomorrow. So, he mahi nui kei mua i a koutou.
Presentation to Lyonel Grant
In acknowledgement of the enduring relationship created by the wharenui, Pai Marire in Washington State, USA, Lyonel Grant was presented with a wool blanket from the Evergreen State College Longhouse at the Whakairo National Hui.
Featuring a design incorporating the work of Tawera and Henare Tahuri, this wool blanket was sent to Toi Māori Aotearoa with instructions to publicly present the blankets to their Māori artist friends in their customary manner.
The presentation was gladly made by Toi Māori Aotearoa Trustees, Trevor Horowaewae Maxwell CNZM (Chair) and Professor Sir Derek Lardelli (Te Pukonohi), with former General Manager, Garry Nicholas, who initiated and supported the creation of this whare over several years.
Te rūnanga Whakairo
2023 Whakairo National Hui
2023 Whakairo National Hui
Tēnā koutou katoa,
Thank you for committing to the 2023 Whakairo National Hui, the first national gathering of Māori carvers in over 20 years. During that time, the landscape for whakairo and the work of tohunga whakairo has changed, and this hui will review our current position and consider future directions.
This hui was initiated and developed by Te Rūnanga Whakairo, an assembly of experienced and well-connected Māori carvers who come together with the support of Toi Māori Aotearoa to share knowledge, strategise, and coordinate activities for the benefit of our art form and te iwi Māori.
For us, whakawhanaungatanga has been at the forefront of our planning for a national hui, and we’re grateful to have received a strong response from a such a diverse group of carvers.
We have devised a programme to stimulate engaged, provocative and lively engagement. We strongly encourage you to be active participants—don’t be shy, speak up, ask questions, share ideas and take that opportunity to introduce yourself to others.
While this hui is intended to raise plenty of thoughts and ideas, building stronger relationships among ourselves will be a key measure of success for Te Rūnanga Whakairo.
Ngā mihi ki a koutou,
Rangi Kipa
Chair, Te Rūnanga Whakairo
The 2023 Whakairo National Hui has been developed by Rangi Kipa, Kereti Rautangata, Lyonel Grant, Bernard Makoare, Fayne Robinson, Stacy Gordine and Eugene Kara
The 2023 Whakairo National Hui has been developed by Rangi Kipa, Kereti Rautangata, Lyonel Grant, Bernard Makoare, Fayne Robinson, Stacy Gordine and Eugene Kara
Venue
Te Puia, Hemo Road, Tihiotonga, Rotorua
Please tag @toi_maori_aotearoa and #WNH2023 on your social media posts and stories regarding the 2023 Whakairo National Hui so we can check them out!
Please tag @toi_maori_aotearoa and #WNH2023 on your social media posts and stories regarding the 2023 Whakairo National Hui so we can check them out!
Venue
Te Puia, Hemo Road, Tihiotonga, Rotorua
supported by
supported by