Rotorua Daily Post
  • Rotorua Daily Post home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Residential property listings
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Rural
  • Sport

Locations

  • Tauranga
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales

Weather

  • Rotorua
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Rotorua Daily Post

First Aronui Indigenous Arts Festival went above and beyond expectations, says director

Shauni James
By Shauni James
Rotorua Weekender reporter·Rotorua Daily Post·
26 Sep, 2019 08:00 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Aronui Māori Market at Ohinemutu

The first year of a new festival in Rotorua has gone above and beyond expectations for its director.

The Aronui Indigenous Arts Festival celebrates, inspires and shares through indigenous arts.

It showcased a diverse range of art forms including theatre, te reo Māori, music, writing, visual and traditional art as well as film.

It also supported Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori in the second week of September.

The inaugural month-long festival started with a whakatau (welcoming ceremony) at Te Papaīōuru Marae, Ōhinemutu.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Aronui Indigenous Arts Festival director Cian Elyse White says the first festival has gone above and beyond their expectations.

"In this inaugural year we had hoped to develop the event and engage people. The community came out in full force and blew us away with its support."

(From left) Rosie Belvie, Kahumako Rameka and Matiu Hamuera performing at the official opening. Photo / Supplied by Aronui Indigenous Arts Festival
(From left) Rosie Belvie, Kahumako Rameka and Matiu Hamuera performing at the official opening. Photo / Supplied by Aronui Indigenous Arts Festival

She says they will be holding the festival again: "It's proven itself to be something the community really wants and embraced.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"We've already had questions from members of the public asking, 'When is this happening again?' That's the sort of response you dream of."

She says the festival even got some international artists involved in its first year, which was part of its three-year plan.

White said the achievement in this first year was phenomenal.

Even though the month is coming to a close there are still a couple of things happening as part of the festival in these last few days.

Discover more

Filmmaker? This could be your big break

12 Sep 06:19 AM

Paua pies and poi palace, Māori culture takes centre stage

15 Sep 01:42 AM

Mural captures 'beautiful smile' of the late Aunty Bea

17 Sep 06:51 PM

Ancestry and identity inspire Rotorua art exhibition

15 Sep 11:32 PM

The Rotorua Indigenous Film Festival is currently taking place, with more than 50 filmmakers from around the world meeting in Rotorua, she says.

Taumata Umu-ariki Soloman in front of his Aunty Bea mural. Photo / File
Taumata Umu-ariki Soloman in front of his Aunty Bea mural. Photo / File

The Whanonga Pono exhibition at the Arts Village is still on display and people can visit the mural of the late Aunty Bea by artist Taumata Solomon, which is located on the side of Ajay's Emporium on Hinemoa St.

White says she has enjoyed bringing the community and people together through the festival to celebrate and share stories about indigenous matters.

She says even though Aronui is an indigenous festival, it is for everyone, and members of the public from all different pockets of the community have shown up and shared memorable moments.

She is looking forward to seeing what is in store for the future.

White thanked the community, sponsors and the committee made up of volunteers for their help and support.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Without the support shown it wouldn't have been the successful event it ended up being."

For more information on the festival go to aronuiartsfestival.com.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua Daily Post

'Hot-box' murder: Accused says rival gang bigger issue than patched member's theft

17 Jun 07:00 AM
Rotorua Daily Post

CCTV of rider released after blind, deaf cancer survivor struck in hit-and-run

17 Jun 04:05 AM
Rotorua Daily Post

'Walk away enriched': How to celebrate Matariki in Rotorua

17 Jun 04:00 AM

Jono and Ben brew up a tea-fuelled adventure in Sri Lanka

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

'Hot-box' murder: Accused says rival gang bigger issue than patched member's theft

'Hot-box' murder: Accused says rival gang bigger issue than patched member's theft

17 Jun 07:00 AM

Defence counsel says Mark Hohua died after falling on to concrete steps while fleeing.

CCTV of rider released after blind, deaf cancer survivor struck in hit-and-run

CCTV of rider released after blind, deaf cancer survivor struck in hit-and-run

17 Jun 04:05 AM
'Walk away enriched': How to celebrate Matariki in Rotorua

'Walk away enriched': How to celebrate Matariki in Rotorua

17 Jun 04:00 AM
‘I’ve been put up on the shelf’: Temuera Morrison laments Star Wars limbo

‘I’ve been put up on the shelf’: Temuera Morrison laments Star Wars limbo

17 Jun 03:16 AM
Help for those helping hardest-hit
sponsored

Help for those helping hardest-hit

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Rotorua Daily Post e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Rotorua Daily Post
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP