Māori Moving Image ki Te Awakairangi

In the same way as a waiata supports a speaker, these new moving image works tautoko the musicians’ advocacy for te reo and mātauranga Māori. Karaoke allows you the audience to bring your own connection to a song, and we welcome you to add your personal flair, inflection and dance moves to the performance.

The exhibition welcomes you into a bespoke karaoke booth to view the works of five Māori artists, who were invited to create video responses to Māori songs. Just as waiata (song) can support a speaker, these new moving image works tautoko (support) the musicians’ advocacy for te reo (language) and mātauranga (knowledge) Māori.

Māori Moving Image ki Te Awakairangi is part of an ongoing project by curators Bridget Reweti and Melanie Oliver, developed in partnership between The Dowse Art Museum and Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, that explores the history of Māori artists who have used animation, film and video as a medium over the past 40 years.

Māori Moving Image ki Te Awakairangi features works by:

- Jamie Berry (responding to ‘A.E.I.O.U. (Akona Te Reo)’ by Moana and the Moa Hunters)
- Luther Ashford (responding to ‘Poi E’ by Patea Māori Club and Dalvanius Prime)
- Kahurangiariki Smith (responding to ‘True Love’ by Troy Kingi)
- Suzanne Tamaki (responding to ‘Owner’ by Ria Hall)
- Terri Te Tau (responding to ‘Blue Smoke’ by Pixie Williams, Ruru Karaitiana, Lisa Tomlins, and Kirsten Te Rito)

The first iteration of this project Māori Moving Image: An Open Archive was originally shown at The Dowse Art Museum in 2019 and featured existing works by 20 artists spanning nearly 40 years of production.