Wed, 31 May
|Tauranga Art Gallery
Heavenly Bodies - Maungarongo ‘Ron’ Te Kawa
‘Heavenly Bodies’ series centres on nine quilts. Each represents one of the nine whetū of the Matariki star cluster, which are often personified as a whaea, Matariki, and her eight tamariki: Pōhutukawa, Tupuānuku, Tupuārangi, Waitī, Waitā, Waipuna–ā–rangi, Ururangi, and Hiwa–i–te–rangi.
Time & Location
31 May 2023, 10:00 am – 06 Aug 2023, 4:00 pm
Tauranga Art Gallery, 108 Willow Street, Tauranga 3141, New Zealand
About The Event
Maungarongo ‘Ron’ Te Kawa lives in Woodville, Manawatū, and has been crafting intricate quilts since the early 1990s. Te Kawa’s kaupapa focuses on sharing Māori stories and connections to whakapapa. He says: “My whakapapa quilts are an invitation to celebrate the fun, colour and magic of te ao Māori and all those things that fill my heart and heal my mind and spirit. Dance, connection to wairua and nature, whānau, whenua, stories, survival, resilience.”
First presented in 2022 at Season in Tāmaki Makaurau, the artist’s ‘Heavenly Bodies’ series centres on nine quilts. Each represents one of the nine whetū of the Matariki star cluster, which are often personified as a whaea, Matariki, and her eight tamariki: Pōhutukawa, Tupuānuku, Tupuārangi, Waitī, Waitā, Waipuna–ā–rangi, Ururangi, and Hiwa–i–te–rangi. These exuberant and brilliantly coloured star quilts have been reunited by Tauranga Art Gallery for Matariki this year and are complemented by an artist designed drawing activity for kids.
Price: Free
When: Saturday, 20 May to Sunday, 6 August
Where: Tauranga Art Gallery Toi Tauranga, 108 Willow Street, Tauranga
More details: https://www.artgallery.org.nz