Ngākau Carving Symposium

The symposium is a place where professional and emerging artists can come together, create, share their skills, learn, and connect through whakairo (carving) in kōhatu (stone) and rākau (wood) on the grounds of Te Kura o Te Kauaeranga – Thames South School. This is a community event open to all during the April school holidays, and this year, it offers a great range of free mahi toi māori workshops taught by tangata whenua experts and local artists in each art form. The symposium culminates in an art auction on Saturday the 27th, where the artworks created by the artists during the two weeks are auctioned off with proceeds going towards the kura. The Ngākau committee are also calling for sponsors of the artists in the symposium, for $1,500 and in exchange, the sponsor will receive one carved sculpture made by the artist.  You can also commission the artists to create a work. They want business, organisations, and individuals who wish to become a sponsor, to contact them via their email: ngakaucommittee@gmail.com or contact Andre Barlow: 021 217 6876. Below is a list of the workshops, all are FREE, other than the Tukutuku Wānanga run by TuiTui Designs. Tukutuku Wānanga 13 April | Moana Williams | free Tāne Wānanga 13 April  | Jamie Watson | free Tukutuku Wānanga 13 April | TuiTui Designs | $120 per person Kowhaiwhai Wānanga 14- 20  April |  Walter Baker | free Māori Musical Instruments & Stone Cutting Wānanga 16-18 April  | Jamie Watson | free Raranga Wānanga | Collen Renata & Louise Humphry | free date to be confirmed lo Mata Hauora | Amber Andrew & Jo Shelford | free date to be confirmed Wood Carving Wānanga | Trif Sitnikoff | free date to be confirmed Screen Printing Wānanga | Tes | free date to be confirmed This year Ngākau is excited to have Joe Dutaona from Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, join the symposium and plans to reserve a space every year for an artist from the Pacific.