Auckland Art Gallery receives support from iwi for new gallery exhibition

Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei is partnering with Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki for the first time in a multicultural gallery.

Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Trust deputy chairman Ngarimu Blair hopes that this will strengthen the relationship between Auckland Council and iwi, and hopes there will be more to come.

Gallery director Kirsten Lacy says that Ngāti Whātua has made a platform for artists who have never been exhibited before to be seen by the public and media.

Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei has contributed to the funding for the gallery, and the gallery’s support for multicultural representation has been “incredibly important”, Blair said.

The exhibition will debut on July 6, with 27 new artists displaying a range of original paintings, textiles, sculptures, ceramics, photography and performances. Entry is free.

Blair also hopes it will inspire a younger generation of diverse artists by “growing as a nation”.

“That’s what our ancestors wanted, to open up our lands, our harbours, so that everyone could find a place,” he said. Joe Pihema, poumata (head of kaupapa Māori) at the gallery said he was blown away by the support Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei has given to the gallery for this contemporary art triennial. This comes after the art gallery’s cultural landscape was under fire for its lack of representation last year.

Blair praised the new inclusion of diversity, recalling the history of the art gallery being “monocultural up until recent years”.

“We need to keep growing as a nation,” he said.

Lacy says that roughly one-third of the artists have a Māori background, one-third have Pākehā or Pacifica backgrounds and one-third have Asian backgrounds.

The gallery will recur every three years, giving New Zealand’s artists a major moment to work towards and allow for young artists to “find a place for themselves”, Lacy said.

People will have until Sunday, October 20, 2024 to view the exhibition.