Travelling Tuvaluan community rejoice at Whangārei Art Museum celebration
5 Mar, 2021 04:00 PM
3 minutes to read
Tuvaluan master artist Lakiloko Keakea in Whangārei on Saturday. Photo / John Stone
Reporter for the Northern Advocate jodi.bryant@nzme.co.nz
Whangārei Art Museum (WAM) was alive with vibrant colour, sound and people on Saturday with the opening of the Fafetu exhibition.
The exhibition, running until May 23, was launched with a pōwhiri that included a fusion of cultures, with a 50-plus Tuvaluan contingent from Auckland. Fafetu translates as star in English. Photo / John Stone
WAM marketing manager Larissa McMillan described the event as a joyful celebration.
Fafetu exhibition at Whangārei Art Museum features Tuvalu artists
25 Feb, 2021 04:00 PM
3 minutes to read
Tuvaluan master artist Lakiloko Keakea s work will be displayed at Whangārei Art Museum from this weekend. Photo / Samuel Hartnett courtesy of Objectspace
Reporter for the Northern Advocate jodi.bryant@nzme.co.nz
This weekend will see 40 women from Tuvalu and accompanying men with drums descend on Whangārei in traditional dress to open a kaleidoscopic exhibition at the Whangārei Art Museum (WAM).
The Fafetu exhibition begins Saturday and will comprise brightly-coloured woven pattern star shapes created by Tuvaluan master artist Lakiloko Keakea and the Tuvaluan group Fafine Niutao I Aotearoa.
Kavinda Herath/Stuff
Mīharo Murihiku Trust chairwoman Pauline Smith is now a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her work to the pacific arts and the community
One of the greatest accomplishments of the polyfest has been its ability to create an acceptance and understanding of diverse cultures in Southland. Pauline Smith is now a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her work in the pacific arts and the community. Smith is the chairperson of Mīharo Murihiku Trust, previously the Murihiku Māori and Pasifika Trust Cultural Trust. In 2009, she was a founding member of the first Murihiku Polyfest, which led to the establishment of the Murihiku Maori and Pasifika Cultural Trust in 2010 in order to make it an annual event.