17-22nd January 2025
By Isabel Gilbert-Palmer
Art-Is Identity: I chose the exhibition title as a current statement in the politics of Aotearoa at this moment, an opportunity that might offer a public reflection of identity through art. It enabled the participatory artists to define and reflect various aspects of their identity and would resonate with the viewer’s curiosity about the multifaceted nature of identity.
This Exhibition evolved naturally from the Six of the Best Exhibition at Easter 2023 in Kūaotunu, when six local Māori and Pasifika tane showed together for the first time. At Labour Weekend the same year, Ring wera Ringa hera, an exhibition of Māori and Pasifika wāhine toi, was also shown together for the first time.
We would inevitably bring both groups together, extend the net further to include Hauraki, and invite some extraordinary artists from off the Peninsula who were known to us and keen to support our kaupapa and join us. Ron Te Kawa and Sofia Tekela-Smith did just that.
It’s been a gift that all the works aligned with my initial thought and purpose, which I had left entirely to each artist’s interpretation.
I hoped that their uniqueness and originality would complement the title and illustrate and celebrate the diverse identities that make up our communities across the Rohe and beyond.
I thank all those whose work was part of this show for their thoughts, love, hard work, and concentration on what the exhibition is made of. It was professional, surprising, interesting, provocative, joyful and gorgeous.
Exhibiting in this show at Hauraki House Gallery were artists who are tangata whenua, hold a place in outstanding creative family whakapapa, have shown internationally and nationally, have been finalists in Awards and Competitions, have had NZ Honours recognition, have done weeks of Residencies in NZ and beyond, have been guests at International Art events, have their work in National and beyond Galleries and Museums, are in private collections, have been written about in articles, books, have been interviewed in the media, in a myriad of ways and worked in the movie industry.
“All these artists are extraordinary in their mahi toi. They’re diligent, committed to their ideas, and talented. And they live and work right here in Hauraki Coromandel.”
To end on a personally significant note, I want to share a moment from the Kūaotunu Exhibition. A small girl of about 6 years old came in with her family and was told by her parents: “When we have looked around at the Art, you can have an ice cream.” The family looked and left. A few minutes later, the child returned with her mother’s phone and asked me if she could “please take a photo of Ron’s banner because I love it—the sparkly one.”
As a recipient of 9 Creative New Zealand and Creative Coromandel grants, I would like to say thank you on behalf of artists, makers, first-time exhibitors and our local Steiner Kindergarten for workshops, hui and exciting and dazzling exhibitions in Kūaotuno since 2016. It’s a community known for more than “killer icecreams” at the local store and Lukes’s pizzas. A series of events and exhibitions, including the default 10 Artists, began by Ian Preece and friends, which is synonymous with the village. Kūaotunu village has spun into an art axis.
These grants created a platform that has helped support emerging and shy artists, exposed them to other artists, and invited artists. This has created a sense of belonging and has become part of our community’s character.
Extending, collaborating, and amplifying Art-is Identity with Creative Coromandel’s [Creative Conversations] series in Coromandel/Colville and bringing it over the hill into another strong arts community and professional gallery space, Hauraki House was a triumph and has sparked yet another creative thread that will grow.
