Taioro ki te Ao

Taioro ki te Ao is a 60 minute performance featuring spoken word, piano and viola.

Opening and closing with pao, this set includes sections of both solo recitals and group performances. Poetry content includes both te reo Māori and English. Taioro ki te Ao is a journey guided by woven words on some of the less discussed events in Aotearoa, New Zealand history.

This collaboration from spoken word poet Sharn Maree and award winning composer Anthony Ritchie looks to the past, the present and the future. It speaks to colonisation, indigenous challenges and some of the modern day issues faced in Aotearoa through the perspective of one wahine Māori, Māori woman.

Taioro ki te Ao is a balance of darkness and light, highlighting the importance of acknowledging indigenous narratives and challenging hegemonic systems that attempt to legitimize one narrative over another.

Featuring Sharn Maree - Spoken Word Poetry. Donald Maurice - Viola. Sherry Grant - Piano.
Written by Sharn Maree. Composed by Anthony Ritchie.