Taonga Moana - Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival

A choral, musical and visual reminder about the beauty and importance of our oceans.

As people of Tairāwhiti we have a deep and consistent connection Te Moananui a Kiwa (the Pacific) – it is our ancient highway, our food basket, our playground, our place of quiet contemplation, an ever-present backdrop to our everyday lives.

Taonga Moana celebrates our oceans as taonga. Aotearoa’s national chamber choir, Voices New Zealand, joins forces with composers Warren Maxwell (Little Bushmen, Trinity Roots, Fat Freddie’s Drop), Jaakko Mäntyjärvi (eclectic Finnish composer), and multimedia artists Tim and Mic Gruchy (Opera Australia, Sydney Theatre Company, Australian Dance Theatre). A spectacular choral celebration of our oceans - and a reminder of our duty of care as kaitiaki.

Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival
Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival is the Gisborne region’s new flagship contemporary arts and cultural event, taking place, for the first time, from 4-20 October this year. Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival will deliver performance events by hundreds of performers from across New Zealand and the Pacific.

The festival celebrates what it means to be of Tairāwhiti and of Aotearoa. It reflects and celebrates the people of the Gisborne region and the East Coast. It reinforces the importance of people and place, and further affirms the region’s strong position in the creative landscape of Aotearoa.

For the full programme and ticketing information, please visit www.tetairawhitiartsfestival.nz.