Indigenous art takes centre stage at fair

SHOWCASING DIVERSITY: Hoea! Gallery director and curator Melanie Tangaere Baldwin, gallery and curator assistant Nikora Te Kahu and kairaranga/weaver in residence Michelle Hinekura Kerr are in Tāmaki Makaurau this week to showcase the talents of local artists. Picture by Paul Rickard

Hoea! Whare Whakaatu Toi is a unique art gallery and project space that was created and curated by wahine with a responsibility to uphold mātauranga Māori.

As an indigenous artist-run gallery, the creative space supports and showcases ngā iwi takeake (indigenous peoples) and their contemporary art forms.

The current exhibition at Hoea!, He Pounamu, displays creative kākahu made for and by ngā mokopuna o Te Kōhanga Reo o Tomairangi. The exhibition opened earlier this month and will run until December 18.

The exhibition is intrinsically linked to another exposition that Hoea! is involved with this week at the Aotearoa Art Fair in Tāmaki Makaurau.

Hoea!'s director and curator Melanie Tangaere Baldwin, gallery and curator assistant Nikora Te Kahu, and kairaranga/weaver in residence Michelle Hinekura Kerr, along with six other home-grown artists, Fiona Collis, Kristal G, George Watson, Piupiu Maya Turei, Melanie Tahata and Carmel Salmanzadeh are being showcased at the annual art fair.

The fair brings together artists and art enthusiasts from around Aotearoa, Australia and the Pacific to exhibit their works, attend artist-led lectures and connect with other artists and galleries.

There are 40 “hand-picked” galleries and over 180 artists in attendance.

While there are large, well-known high-end galleries participating, the mezzanine floor of The Cloud is representative of artist-run spaces and upcoming galleries.

There are only five spaces available on the mezzanine floor — two are designated for Australian or Pasifika galleries and three for New Zealand-based spaces.

Hoea! is one of the galleries chosen to occupy the space.

The platform has provided Hoea! the opportunity to showcase indigenous art in a variety of mediums — raranga, whatu, painting, sculpture, video and digital work, embroidery and printmaking.

“The majority of galleries attending are well established with a commercial approach to art, which we are not and somewhat counteracts what we stand for as artists in our indigenous practices,” Ms Tangaere Baldwin said.

“But it gives us the opportunity to state our case in the context of mātauranga Māori and what we aspire to be as artists.”

The particular space they are occupying at the fair was established to champion new galleries and artist-run spaces and has been aptly named by Hoea! ‘“He Iti” (to be small).

The name, taken from the whakatauāki (proverb) “Ahakoa he Iti, he Pounamu”, suggests that although something might seem small or insignificant, it can hold the most precious treasure.

It also speaks to inclusion and an altering of power dynamics. Therein lies the link to the current exhibition displayed at Hoea! here in Tairāwhiti.

“It is the concept of tukana — teina. Tukana (older sibling) helps and guides the younger teina, however, this can be reversed at any time,” Ms Tangaere Baldwin said.

“Our exhibition in Tāmaki Makaurau, He Iti, is the tukana inspiring our tamariki and showing them what can be achieved, while He Pounamu in Tairāwhiti is the teina who will guide us while we are away — our safety net, our feet on the ground, our precious gifts.”

The Aotearoa Art Fair is on at The Cloud convention centre, Queens Wharf, Auckland. The fair began yesterday and runs until Sunday.

Head to artfair.co.nz for more information and ticket sales.

Hoea! is open to the public Thursday to Saturday, 11am to 3pm.