Exhibitions
Come on down to Hartham Place in Porirua on Thursday 31st March at 6PM to check out and support this awesome initiative.
Awhina Tamarapa, Xoe Hall, Rangimarie Sophie Jolley, and Kaea Graham.
What initially started as a one-off, three week exhibition of seven Māori women artists has grown and multiplied into something far greater and more awesome! The Toi Wāhine Collective has been very fortunate to be able to continue to occupy our HQ space at 10 Hartham Place, Porirua.
We opened our second exhibition on 6th January with an intimate gathering, and this time around we had several new guest artists join the fold. Included in the second round of Toi Wāhine, alongside our initial seven founding members were artists:
Robyn Kahukiwa
Alison Waru
Jess Potiki
Kaea Graham
Awhina Tamarapa
Pip Hartley
Stevei Houkamau
Kui Topia
Hayley Galo
Maxine Montgomery
The Toi Wāhine Collective is very grateful to have the support of these outstanding Māori Women Artists and to include the work of these women into our ever-evolving and expanding art project.
Tomorrow (26th Feb) will see phase three of Toi Wāhine born, with new works being hung, and more new artists contributing to our kaupapa.
18 year old artist Kaea Graham hanging works for phase two of Toi Wāhine.
My new fashion project launched during phase two of Toi Wāhine.
Founding member Sian Montgomery-Neutze and some of our tamariki practicing their kirituhi skills at the space.
A sold work by Robyn Kahukiwa, whom we are over the moon to have involved in our project.
Work by Robyn Kahukiwa for the childrens book 'The Blue Book and Other Stories' written by Rangimarie Sophie Jolley and illustrated by Robyn. You can order one of these books at Toi Wāhine HQ.
Work by Jess Potiki included in phase two.
Detail of painting by Sian Montgomery-Neutze.
Me and guest moko artist Pip Hartley of Tuwharetoa outside the space.
Tamariki of Toi Wāhine, Niwareka and Maahaki.
Detail of painting by Alison Waru from the East Coast.
My new fashion project launched at the space during phase two.
My new fashion project launched at the space during phase two.
Kaea Graham getting her painting ready to hang for phase two.
Me with a lovely moko client during phase two.
New notebooks I launched during phase two.
My new fashion project launched during phase two.
Me with Ngāti Toa whānau that came to Toi Wāhine HQ for tā moko during phase two.
A new style i've started experimenting with during phase two.
New painting by founding member Pikihuia Haenga-Carkeek.
We were thrilled to host guest moko artist Pip Hartley at the space for a few days visiting from Karanga Ink in Auckland.
Guest moko artist Pip Hartley working on a painting at the space.
The ever evolving front of HQ during phase two.
Freehand draw up before the tattooing process begins on one of my clients during phase two.
Moko artist Sian Montgomery-Neutze tattooing clay artist Stevei Houkamau.
New sets of small art prints I launched during phase two.
New work by Pikihuia Haenga-Carkeek that always makes people laugh when they come in.
Moko artist Sian Montgomery-Neutze putting in work at the space.
Work by Robyn Kahukiwa at Toi Wāhine HQ.
Work I completed at TWHQ for a New Zealand woman currently working as a lawyer in Cayman Islands.
Our signage is always changing like we are.
Original painting by Robyn Kahukiwa at Toi Wāhine HQ.
Our youngest artist Kaea Graham putting in work at our most recent art making waananga.
Our most recent art making waananga in the space.
Our most recent art making waananga at the space.
Our most recent art making waananga at the space.
My shoes adorned by Kaea Graham at our most recent art making waananga.
Kaea Graham putting in work at our most recent art making waananga.
Kia ora!
We the ladies of Toi Waahine Collective are pleased to announce our next kaupapa - a youth art exhibition open to all children in New Zealand aged 5-18 years old. This is a great opportunity for budding young artists to have the experience of being part of a real art exhibition at a real exhibition space that the public are able to visit.
Email taryn.teuira@gmail.com for an entry form or collect a hardcopy from Toi Waahine HQ at 10 Hartham Place, Porirua. All completed artworks should be delivered to 10 Hartham Place, Porirua by Friday 11th March, ready to hang.
A series of my glitter paintings is currently on show at Mahara Gallery in Waikanae, showing until 14th February 2016. If you're in the area, go and check it out!
Customized footwear workshop by Miriama Grace-Smith. Check out more of Miriama's work here.
Storytelling workshop with writer Sophie Jolley who has recently published a children's book in collaboration with artist Robyn Kahukiwa.
Mural painting workshop ran by Xoe Hall and Sian Montgomery-Neutze.
On 2nd December myself and six other female Māori artists affiliated to the Porirua area (Xoe Hall, Pikihuia Carkeek-Haenga, Sophie Jolley, Miriama Grace-Smith, Sian Montgomery-Neutze, Keri-Mei Zagrobelna) had our exhibition opening for Toi Wāhine 2015 at 10 Hartham Place in Porirua.
Thanks to Urban Dream Brokerage who helped us to obtain the awesome space to have our show in. Thank you to everyone that came along to the opening event and made it such a special night!
Here are some photos from Toi Wāhine 2015 which ran for three weeks from 2nd - 22nd December 2015.
Come along and get involved in the action coming up this Thursday and Friday at Toi Wāhine HQ! All welcome!
The exhibition Toi Wāhine 2015 that I am a part of alongside Xoe Hall, Sian Montgomery-Neutze, Miriama Grace-Smith, Pikihuia Haenga-Carkeek, Keri-mei Zagrobelna and Rangimarie Sophie Jolley, is on now until 22nd December 2015. So far it has been an amazing journey and I have been relishing every minute of the synergy and collaborative energy that comes from working in a group of like minded people.
We have several community events and workshops coming up soon. Here are two of them - mural painting workshop on Saturday 12th December and customised footwear workshop on Sunday 20th December.
I hope you can make it along to have some fun and share some time with our group of artists!
Mauriora,
Taryn
Sian Montgomery-Neutze, Rangimarie Sophie Jolley, Taryn Beri, Miriama Grace-Smith, Xoe Hall, and Pikihuia Haenga-Carkeek at our first wānanga together in preparation for the exhibition. Our jewellery artist Keri-Mei Zagrobelna was in Europe when we took this photo but she will be back in December in time for our exhibition opening!
Due to open on 2nd December in Hartham Place, Porirua, this exhibition is set to be a diverse, unpredictable and exciting mix of seven young Māori female artists. Included in Toi Wāhine 2015 are female painters, moko artists, a writer, a jewellery designer and a film maker, all with some kind of affiliation to and affection for Porirua City.
The idea was born from seeing a call for proposals that was put out by Letting Space's service Urban Dream Brokerage, a radical and conscious organisation that makes use of empty and vacant shop spaces, transforming them for a short time into living, breathing, useful community based spaces.
Our exhibition will open on Wednesday 2nd December and run through till Tuesday 22nd December (please mark it in your calendars). Located under the canopies in Porirua by where childrens clothing store 'TnT' used to be! Details of the official opening event are still to come, so if you are interested then please stay posted (join my mailing list).
An exciting programme of events is currently being developed by our group, with each individual artist running a workshop for the public to come along and participate in, learn, share and contribute. Live tā moko will also be happening in the exhibition space throughout the three week period, including moko kauae.
Contributing artists in Toi Wāhine 2015 are:
Xoe Hall (muralist, glitterist and painter)
Sian Montgomery-Neutze (multimedia artist, painter and moko artist)
Miriama Grace-Smith (multimedia artist and fashion designer)
Keri-Mei Zagrobelna (jewellery artist)
Rangimarie Sophie Jolley (writer)
Taryn Beri (multimedia artist, painter and moko artist)
Pikihuia Haenga-Carkeek (experimental film maker)
So far our group has had two wānanga, sharing ideas and making art together, with more wānanga scheduled to come in the lead up to the opening of the exhibition.
Sian Montgomery-Neutze at our first wānanga toi.
Miriama Grace-Smith at our first wānanga toi.
Rangimarie Sophie Jolley at our first wānanga toi.
Xoe Hall at our first wānanga toi.
We will have interactive installations, paintings and prints for sale, community workshops, live tā moko happening onsite and lots of other fun and awesome things happening over the three weeks - more details to come.
I hope you can make it along to check it out, participate and support the kaupapa!
Mauriora,
Taryn Beri
I worked on my cousin Hepa's moko peha at Mahara Gallery for the exhibition opening weekend. On the wall behind us is my latest painting, 'Te Āhuru Mōwai'.
Last weekend I attended the opening of 'He Toi Reikorangi: Te Ātiawa artists celebrate Matariki' at Mahara Gallery in Waikanae, on the Kapiti Coast of the Wellington region (New Zealand). It was super exciting and hundrends of people showed up to celebrate and show their support for the exhibition, including some of the best Māori artists in the world. For the duration of the opening weekend, Mahara Gallery invited myself, Rangi Kipa and Mitchell Hughes to showcase our tā moko expertise.
The fact that this exhibition opening was in Waikanae was personally significant to me, because my grandmother spent a lot of her life growing up in Waikanae, and her grandfather Wi Parata was a well known leader of the area and one of the biggest landowners - in fact Waikanae was once known as 'Parata Town'.
Iwi exhibitions are one of my favorite types of exhibitions because they reinforce and strengthen the whakapapa/genealogical bonds between the artists and the people of the iwi they belong to. Iwi exhibitions are a positive and uplifting community kaupapa that bring people together, showcasing the artistic excellence and skills amongst that particular tribe - I think that in itself, is an inspiring and empowering outcome.
A section of the moko peha that I worked on at Mahara Gallery during the exhibition opening weekend.
My eight year old apprentice, Ria Te Uira, stretching skin at Mahara Gallery.
My niece Ria Te Uira is a great little apprentice.
One of the reasons that I love to bring tā moko into art galleries is that it exposes and opens up the art form and cultural practice, to an entirely different audience, an audience that may not ever have the chance to see tā moko happening in real life, in any other situation. The potential for engagement with the public is great in an art gallery setting, and I enjoy answering the many and varied questions that people come up with. Having tā moko artists working in an art gallery space is magnetic, cutting edge, and a rare opportunity for gallery viewers to witness the tā moko process.
Another reason that I enjoy bringing tā moko into art gallery (and museum) settings is because I believe that all of our Māori art forms are inter-related and connected. Our various different art forms are at their strongest when put together and combined, contrasted against each other, complimenting one another, feeding into, informing and in conversation with one another. A decorated wharenui is a prime example of this, as is kapa haka where you see many of our art forms in relationship together at once.
The idea of inter-related art forms is part of the reason why I love collaborating and working alongside other artists, that use different mediums to me. It is also why I am currently enjoying the use of taonga puoro by Jerome Kavanagh, to compliment my tā moko process.
Tohunga tā moko, Rangi Kipa was also tattooing at Mahara Gallery for the exhibition opening weekend, as was moko artist Mitchell Hughes.
An outstanding modern work by master artist, Rangi Kipa.
Inspiring tukutuku work in the exhibition by my whanaunga, expert weaver Kohai Grace.
Photographic portraits in the exhibition featuring Te Ātiawa women and their moko kauae, by Heloise Bergman.
Whakairo in the exhibition by my whanaunga, Rakairoa Hori.
Painting in the exhibition by one of my favorite contemporary Māori painters, Darcy Nicholas.
Outstanding hue by expert weaver, Veranoa Hetet.
I love this work by Tracey Morgan using seaweed and tāniko.
I have two prints on show in the exhibition, 'Manu Ariki' and 'Hine Ariki'. The kete shown in the foreground are by Snooks Forster.
My painting 'Te Āhuru Mōwai' currently at Mahara Gallery. This painting refers to a 'cosy haven' inside the womb of a woman, the home of a baby growing, the amniotic fluid and the dna / ancestral material that makes up the baby and who the baby is / will become.
The photos of art work shown in this article are just a snapshot of the full exhibition and there are many more awesome and innovative works on show until 12th July 2015, so go and see for yourself!
I am thrilled to be a part of this kaupapa alongside some of my favorite Māori artists. Come along to the exhibition opening this Friday at 4pm, Mahara Gallery. Hope to see you there!
Mauriora,
Taryn