Wāhine

Weaving together intimate sound stories and powerful portrait photography, Wāhine is an immersive multi-media arts exhibition that amplifies Māori women’s voices around Aotearoa.

Wāhine offers communities an opportunity to come together, to be enriched and inspired by these raw, honest and vulnerable stories – stories that touch on the joys and inspirations, the troubles and tribulations, and the resilience that has moulded these wāhine into the women they are.

Part of Te Ahurei Toi o Tāmaki | Auckland Arts Festival 2023, Wāhine will metamorphose into a stunning outdoor lightbox exhibition, a first for the Wāhine Exhibition.

The deeply personal words of each interview are woven together from real-life recordings captured by the women themselves and accompanied by portraits (enlarged and exhibited on lightboxes) taken at each woman’s home, marae, or their chosen location.

As it travels around Aotearoa, Wāhine expands at each new location, inviting a wahine from a local iwi to join the kaupapa and hold space for the other women.

Here in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, Hinewai Clarke (Ngāti Whātua, Tainui) is joining the kaupapa.

“This is one of the very few exhibitions that you experience within a lifetime that has the ability to entirely change your life” - Dr. Jay van der Reijden, PhD Archeology

Open to the public from Tuesday 7 March - Sunday 26 March. Open all day or return in the evening for the full lightbox exhibition experience**

16+; Trigger warning required
Free exhibition

**To access the audio portraits, you will need to bring your smart phone and headphones for a truly personal experience.

Group bookings are essential, such as school groups (audio guides/headphones can be provided for school bookings) contact: schools@aaf.co.nz