NOTICE: This exhibition has passed. A library cataloging the exhibition artworks and the perspectives from the artists and guest speakers can be found here.
Toa, Baye Pewhairangi Riddell
PUBLIC TRUST HALL, STOUT STREET
Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington 2020
31 October - 4 November
A United Nations 75th anniversary art exhibition, bringing forward authentic Māori, indigenous and many cultures artistic visions to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Featuring over 80 artworks from 17 artists.
FREE ENTRY
“Pae maunga tū i te pō, tū i te aō, pae tangata ngaro noa ngaro noa.
Ki ngā maunga whakahī, whakarongo kōrero, e karapoti nei i te whanganui a Tara, ā, rere atu nei ki ngā wai tuku kiri o Te Awakairangi, o Waiwhetū, o Waitangi, puta noa ki te moana o Raukawa.
Nau mai haere mai ki Te Upoko o te Ika a Maui! Haere mai ki te whenua ūkaipō me te rangatiratanga o Te Atiawa nui tonu, ki a Toa Rangatira hoki! Nau mai ki ō mātau maunga a Ahumairangi, a Tangi Te Keo, a Pukeahu e whakakorowai ana i ngā ringa rehe toi kua whakarauika nei mai i runga i ngā urunga ō wō rātau waka, herenga iwi, herenga tangata ki Te Upoko o te Ika. Nō reira tau ārai o te pō, tītoko ki te aō mārama! Te tira mātaipō kua nunumi atu ki te taiahiahi, takoto, moe mai i te moenga te whita, i te moenga te au, i te moenga te whakārahia! Kia tātau te tira mātaiaō e whai nei te taiawatea…taiahaha, taiahaha!”
— nā Tamahou Temara, Ngāi TūhoeToi Māori Aotearoa - Operations Manager
This welcoming address, acknowledges the local iwi - peoples and places of cultural significance within the Wellington region in New Zealand, including important landmarks, rivers, tributaries, bays and the main body of water - te moana o Raukawa.
Te Kaupapa — About
Whenua Ūkaipō speaks of the direct connection one has to the whenua - land and te taiao - the natural environment, as a source of sustenance and a sense of belonging. Whenua Ūkaipō is also symbolic of our ties to Papatūānuku the Māori name for our earth mother.
Whatungarongaro te tangata, toitū te whenua
As people disappear from sight the land remains
This whakataukī - proverb acknowledges how highly valued Papatūānuku our earth mother is within Māori culture. A view that is shared by many cultures.
The dual meaning of the word whenua refers to the land that continues to nourish us, Papatūānuku and the whenua that nurtured each and everyone of us before birth. While we will all disappear from sight, this whakataukī leads us to reflect on the state of Papatūānuku today and consider, what are we creating for future generations?
Nau mai, haere mai — Welcome
Fabrizio Hochschild-Drummond, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on the Commemoration of the United Nations 75th Anniversary, gives his message for Whenua Ūkaipō Connectedness 2020.
Whenua Ūkaipō Connectedness generates cross-cultural discussion regarding the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through an indigenous and many culture collaboration between exhibiting artists. The dialogue generated between the artists and through their artworks provides cultural insights and meaning to inspire individual and collective action towards sustainability.
An extensive Wā Kōrero - Public Programme is presented daily and includes facilitated discussion featuring participating artists, guest scientists and performance such as spoken word and Taonga Puoro - traditional Māori instruments.
The United Nations established the Sustainable Development Goals as a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. They address the global challenges we face, including poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace and justice and set targets for solutions by 2030. Each participating artist in Whenua Ūkaipō Connectedness has selected one of the seventeen goals to reflect in their work.
Ngā Ringatoi — Artists
Exhibiting artists include Indigenous artists from Aotearoa, the Pacific and Australia. Three international artists are sending works from Australia and Hawai’i.
“The United Nations Association of New Zealand is proud to support Whenau Ūkaipō Connectedness.
The global art project being staged on the 75th anniversary of the formation of the United Nations features seventeen artists whose work is inspired by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. On 25 September it will be five years since the sustainable development goals came into being and the world enters the decade of action to ensure the sustainable development goals are achieved by 2030. The COVID19 crisis and flow on effects provide a renewed motivation to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and use them to guide recovery. This project provides timely cultural insight and meaning to inspire individual and collective action towards sustainable development.”
— Peter Nichols, President, United Nations Association of New Zealand