New Whatua He Whiringa Takatāpui

Whatua He Whiringa Takatāpui is an exhibition that brings together five takatāpui kaiwhatu from across Aotearoa to weave together queer and Māori communities.

Takatāpui is a term that embodies whakapapa Māori AND diverse genders and sexualities. Our existence demands the Indigenous sovereign right to define ourselves on our own terms. The central aho that joins us carries tīpuna messages across generations and with this tīpuna guidance we create Māori futurisms in which all Māori are free.

In the face of transphobic hate in Aotearoa and globally, we affirm mana takatāpui from the (harakeke) roots here in Kirikiriroa.

KO WAI MĀTOU

Moana Murray (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Rēhia, Ngāti Kura, Ngāti Kawau) is a weaver & researcher & grateful mokopuna of Te Taitokerau. Ia’s practice is working to free ancestors in museums so that uri can touch the fibres of our pasts in order to bring forth new ones. Moana’s creative and research practice explores Indigenous archival practice and reclaiming queer and takatāpui histories. Ia dreams of laughing mokopuna, genderqueer ‘fits and tā moko markings, and growing pa harakeke on healthy lands. 

Te Aorere Ngātai-Tautuku (Ngāi te Rangi, Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Te Arawa whānui) is a takatāpui weaver-scholar and a haututū mokopuna of Te Moana-a-Toitehuatahi.They have just finished their Masters of Indigenous Studies with their thesis, Te Whakahaumanu i nga taonga takatāpui, which centered takatapui pūrākau in an investigation of thrivance and belonging through wānanga. They dream of strengthening trans/genderqueer arms and communities against fascists. 

Miriana McGechie (Ngāti Kahungunu ki te Wairoa, Ngāti Rakaipaaka, Ngāti

Rongomaiwahine, Ngāti Porou) is a multidisciplinary creative and kairaranga; weaving stories, evoking emotion, and provoking action through such mediums as harakeke, muka, words, photography, collage, cross stitch, and on the stage. Miriana dreams of us all being the tupuna we have sought to find. And also fresh fruits on the trees. 

Cunty Cryptids Club (Ngāti Haututū)

⛓ (𝔭𝔞𝔲𝔞 𝔱𝔬 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔠𝔯𝔶𝔭𝔱𝔦𝔡𝔰)(𝔩𝔦𝔳𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔞𝔪𝔬𝔫𝔤𝔰𝔱 𝔭𝔭𝔩) ⛓

Using cryptids as a metaphor for indigeneity, Cunty Cryptids Club creates an elite collective of beings, Cunty Cryptids facilitates a space to begin truly expressing and embodying your inner self using visual and performative mediums. They dream of urban marae for all the cryptids of the land [[and all the shiny trinkets]].