New beginning for Village Arts Gallery

The Village Arts Gallery in Kohukohu celebrates Matariki with an exhibition by two local artists.

It may have closed for more than two weeks for renovation work but now the Village Arts Gallery in Kohukohu, on the main street of the historic village on the northern shores of the Hokianga Harbour, is open again for business and set to celebrate new beginnings.

It's appropriate, then, the gallery will celebrate the Maori new year -Matariki-with an exhibition by Northland artists showing work in two-dimensional and three-dimensional media.

The exhibition is entitled Houtupu-meaning new phenomena-and has been organised by locals, Heiwari Johnson and Marg Morrow.

The gallery is administered by the Kohukohu Trust and staffed by the trustees and by artists who are drawn to the area and who volunteer their time.

In fact it's long been rumoured that there'samagical quality to Kohukohu water, based on the sheer numbers of writers, artists, carvers, musicians, film makers and craftspeople who make this region their creative home.

To astronomers the tiny cluster of stars rising on the north-east horizon from the end of May each year is the constellation Pleiades.

To Maori Matariki is a celestial signal of an ending and a beginning.

The two common translations are mata riki (tiny eyes) or mata ariki (eyes of God) but with the universal theme of a new life cycle.

Houtupu opens on 2nd June 2012