Showing Tairāwhiti art to the world

The team involved in Tikitoi are (from left) Henare Brooking (Toi Ako), Phil Berry (He Rau Aroha), Noema Te Hau (He Rau Aroha), Norma Stewart (He Rau Aroha), Kauri Coleman (He Rau Aroha), Melanie Tangaere-Baldwin (Hoea!), Theresa Wawatai-Smith (Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival), Erena Koopu (Toihoukura), Hinetera (Melka) Oakley (Toro Technology). Picture by Liam Clayton

The wealth and diversity of creativity within Te Tairāwhiti is set to be showcased across the globe on a daily basis thanks to a collaborative effort between Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival and the Ministry of Culture and Heritage.

Tikitoi is a free digital platform, created in partnership with Toro Technology, where galleries can open their doors to people anywhere in the world through a portal, allowing the visitors to dive in for a 3D virtual tour.

People can “walk” through the galleries, stop and look at art work, and with a click, find out more about the artist and the piece.

Arts festival chief executive Tama Waipara says Tikitoi is an opportunity to showcase the artistic excellence of Te Tairāwhiti to the world.

“It is the brainchild of my brilliant colleague Edwina Ashwell who has led the project from its inception,” says Mr Waipara.

“Eddie and Melka (Hinetera) Oakley from Toro have had a wonderful collaborative approach to this project and they are the key to its success.”

Tikitoi was launched on Friday before a small gathering of gallery owners and operators, artists and stakeholders.

HOEA! Gallery’s Melanie Tangaere-Baldwin  says the platform allows people to understand the wealth and diversity of creative practice within the region.

“To show that diversity of practice does not mean separation,” she says.

“Tikitoi is another form of community building that we can be proud to  contribute to.”

The concept has been in the making since the middle of last year. Not so long ago Tairāwhiti had 10 art galleries and creative spaces.Eight of them were kaupapa Māori, owned and operated by Māori. Yet there was little online presence celebrating the works.

Covid struck and many of the galleries were forced to close. Those still in operation rely on a small regional market and individual business networks to generate revenue, missing out on significant promotion that would enable them to sell to thirsty national and international markets.

Tikitoi provides a dynamic online presence with that all-important e-commerce functionality for all Tairāwhiti art galleries and creative spaces.

“This isn’t a website with links to other websites or social media platforms,” says Toro project lead Hinetera Oakley.

“It is a fully immersive experience where the user enters an online portal/map and can view 3D virtual tours of each gallery and their current exhibitions.”

Toro’s “why” for Tikitoi is simple.

“We wanted to develop Māori kaupapa that is by Māori for Māori,” says Ms Oakley.

“Tikitoi fulfils that philosophy.”

The Arts Festival already collaborates constantly with the region’s art galleries and creative spaces to develop tours for the community and promote exhibitions and activities through its festival season. The team wanted to take those relationships a step further to attract national and international audiences into those spaces all year round.

Already on board are HOEA! Gallery, Toihoukura School of Māori Visual Arts, Maia Gallery, He Rau Aroha Gallery, and Toi Ake.

The Tikitoi logo was designed by Kahurangi Su with the name gifted by Sir Derek Lardelli who, in doing so, helped shape the direction of the project. Tiki symbolises the primal and first human form, while toi carries the idea of creativity, artistry and culture. Together it captures the concept of fostering and celebrating vibrantly the creative abundance of Te Tairāwhiti.

Tikitoi can be found at www.tikitoi.co.nz