Mānawatia Takatāpui/Defending Plurality: Shannon Novak

Mānawatia Takatāpui / Defending Plurality is an ambitious exhibition developed by artist and activist Shannon Novak for Tauranga Art Gallery. In it, Novak presents an expansive floor-based installation, which spans the ground level atrium and spills into nearby interior and exterior spaces.

Novak takes an artist/curator role presenting a large-scale installation spanning interior and exterior spaces of the gallery with work from the LGBTQI+ community woven in. Formed from his bold and colourful abstractions the installation takes cues from the ever-evolving vocabulary of the LGBTQI+ community. The exhibition spills into other public spaces around Tauranga and beyond through artist interventions, collaborations, and Novak’s "Safe Space" project that seeks to help people identify, navigate, and create safe spaces for the LGBTQI+ community worldwide. The curated selection of works provides a focused cross-section of leading multi-generational and multi-disciplinary artists, including Paul Darragh, Russ Flatt, Alicia Frankovich, Tanu Gago, Brent Harris, Telly Tuita, Aliyah Winter and Cao Xu.

The exhibition is Tauranga Art Gallery’s Signature Show for 2021 through its ambitious scale and active engagement with both artists and the wider community.

Principal Exhibition Partner: Cooney Lees Morgan