Special Program: Contemporary Māori Art

Celebrate the opening of the exhibition Uhengaparaoa Taonga Tuku Iho / Ancestral Gifts / Contemporary Māori Art.
About this Event

This gathering marks the opening of a collaborative exhibition that connects contemporary Māori textile artists from Whakatōhea with an ancestral kaitaka (cloak) in the Fowler Museum collection. Inspired by the legacy of Uhengaparaoa, a renowned pre-18th century Whakatōhea weaver whose knowledge of raranga (weaving) was shared across communities, the exhibition celebrates taonga tuku iho—ancestral treasures and knowledge passed down through generations.
Through artist perspectives, cultural presentations, and opportunities for community engagement, the program invites visitors to explore the enduring significance of Indigenous knowledge, stewardship, storytelling, and cultural continuity. The afternoon honors the resilience and creativity of Whakatōhea artists, whose works carry forward ancestral practices while expressing contemporary experiences, identities, and connections to whenua (land), ancestors, and community.
Join us in celebrating the artists, cultural practitioners, and community members whose collaboration brings Uhengaparaoa’s legacy into the present and future.
Tangimoe Clay (Ngāti Ngahere, Whakatōhea) is a renown weaver and businesswoman from Whakatōhea. She grew up in Ōpōtiki and as a child her first experience of harakeke (flax) was watching her Aunty caring for a pā harakeke (flax garden). Mainly self-taught, Tangimoe later attended various weaving wananga (knowledge sharing sessions). She started her business, Tangata Whenua, in 1996, a gallery and retail store in Opotiki selling the works of local and national Māori artists. TūturuMāori, Tangimoe is a strong advocate for her Whakatōhea people and Māori art. A member of TeRoopu Raranga Whatu o Aotearoa, or National Māori Weavers, Tangimoe Clay has a Bachelor of Toi Māori (Māori art) from Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi. Her work is held in national and international collections, including Te Papa Tongarewa, The National Museum of New Zealand, Auckland Museum, The Metropolitan Museum in New York, and The Fowler Museum in Los Angeles.
Maui Hudson (Ngai Tamahaua, Whakatōhea) is a professor and director of the Te Kotahi Research Institute at the University of Waikato and a council member for Local Contexts. He was previously a member of the Whakatōhea Māori Trust Board and a negotiator for the Whakatōhea Treaty Settlement. He collaborates with Te Tāwharau o Te Whakatōhea on initiatives to support Whakatōhea data sovereignty, scientific partnerships, cultural revitalisation, as well as responsible research and innovation.
Gina Tawhai Matchitt (Ngāti Ngahere, Whakatōhea, Ngati Rangitihi, Te Arawa) grew up in Rotorua, New Zealand and graduated with Masters of Māori visual arts from Massey University and a postgraduate diploma in museums studies from Victoria University. Matchitt co-curated Uhengaparaoa, Taonga Tuku Iho at the Fowler Museum and is currently a curator at Te Whare Taonga o Waikato Museum & Gallery in Hamilton, New Zealand. Her art practice explores the traditions of Te Ao Māori (the Māori world) and their place in contemporary life, often by combining customary Māori techniques, patterns, and language with contemporary materials.
Brent Kerehona Pukepuke-Ahitapu (BA, MTeach) is a passionate and dedicated educator, researcher, published author, and cultural practitioner whose work has been utilised across several arenas, both in Aotearoa/New Zealand and around the world. A former paratrooper and military police officer, he has also worked and liaised with government and non-government organisations and institutions on a range of projects (journal articles, bilingual storybooks, historical novels, and short films) focusing on cultural, historical, and legal issues. His strengths are his ability to locate, access, collate, and evaluate information from a wide range of sources; assimilate and format this information; connect and make sense of ideas, events, and their significance. Brent has traveled the world extensively and has recently begun working within the curatorial space, contributing to several exhibitions. One of his passions is to locate, identify, and study Māori taonga (cultural treasures) around the globe and to write historical and technical reports about them that provide cultural context, so that they can be acknowledged and displayed in a manner that respects their mauri (life essence) and mana (prestige).