The Opening of Tuākana Tēina, Toimairangi Artists Exhibition

Tuākana Tēina
Toimairangi Artists

Michelle Mataira, Wilray Price, Tracy Keith
Darryl Thomson, Cydne Price, Wendy Lee Mckee, Nephi Tupaea, Jaylin August

An exhibition of Kaiako (teacher) and Ākonga (student) from Toimairangi,
Te Wānanga o Aotearoa – Hastings.

Opening at Ahuriri Contemporary on Friday June 10th, 5 - 7pm at Ahuriri Contemporary
Light refreshments will be available.

Ma te tuākana te tēina e tōtika, ma te tēina te tuākana e tōtika
The older will lead the younger and the younger will lead the older

Tuākana is a senior branch of the family, an elder brother or sister, this can also be use in a learning environment, as Tuākana becomes teacher and Tēina is from a more junior branch of the family, a younger brother or sister and Tēina becomes the student. This is a valuable relationship in developing a teaching-learning environment, where senior members guide the younger or beginner members to advance within an akoranga (discipline).

Toimairangi and Te wananga o Aotearoa has not only developed a relationship of kaiako (teacher) and ākonga (student), but enhanced a toi whānau relationship that extends into tikanga of ako principles of koha (offering), Ahurutanga (comfort), kaitiakitanga (guardianship) and mauri ora (life force well-being) and where the shared information of Tuākana to Tēina acknowledges that reciprocal in reverse as where the kaiako learns from the ākonga at the sometime, which furthers the epistemology of the teaching and learning or mātauranga māori environment. This is the intersection of rangahau informing creative practice and creative-practice informing rangahau which guides our ākonga as toi practitioners.

This exhibition is a collection of offerings that represent a diverse range of artist that are developing their skills across different stages of their art career, with art works that show an exploration into their own akoranga and kaupapa toi, reflecting their political, cultural and historical beliefs. Art offerings that encompass their mauri, the principle source of emotions of their essential quality and vitality of each artist as a negotiation of spiritual and earth-bound balance within modernity.

6A Hastings Street, Napier South (upstairs)
info@ahuriricontemporary.com
06 835 9681