Buck Nin, Through the Mists of Time [Culture survives], c.1990. Oil on board. Collection of Whangārei Art Museum. Courtesy: the artist and Wairau Māori Art Gallery, Whangārei.

Ground-breaking Māori art historian Professor Jonathan Mane-Wheoki once referred to Te Tai Tokerau as “the crucible of Māori Art”. This exhibition looks to honour this notion by presenting works made by some of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most celebrated Māori artists in Whangārei. These artists and their legacy represent a resonant call that has influenced contemporary artists for decades and promises to inspire generations into the future.

For Te Ao Hurihuri, which references the idea of an ever-changing world, Wairau Māori Art Gallery has partnered with Whangārei Art Museum to utilise their significant collection. Through a selection of key works this exhibition references a transformative period in Aotearoa’s art history and these visionaries of the modern Māori art movement who disrupted the creative scene and forged a pathway for the contemporary Māori art we know today.

Exhibited artists include Elizabeth Ellis, Ralph Hotere, Kāterina Mataira, Para Matchitt, Selwyn Muru, Buck Nin, Cliff Whiting, and Pauline Yearbury.