Waiora: Hemi Macgregor

Available Monday 30 January to Friday 14 April

Visit the exhibition, Waiora, to discover artworks by renowned Māori artist Hemi Macgregor (Ngāti Rakaipaaka, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāi Tūhoe). Waiora presents a body of work which acknowledges stories of environment and the ways our lives are set within it. Macgregor’s painted and sculptural works carry a visual language which explores positive and negative space, balance, tonal shifts, and layered movement. These elements call to foundational pūrākau (narratives) and expansive natural events as they are held within Mātauranga Māori. The exhibition acknowledges atua, whenua, and our personal journey within these interconnected foundations for daily life.

Ākonga will kōrero to make connections between art and life, and explore themes around the environment, whakapapa, and politics.

Then, they will take part in a printmaking workshop inspired by shapes, patterns, and stories in Macgregor’s artworks. Ākonga learn how to make a stamp to repeat and rotate, forming a whetū or putiputi design, then consider how to arrange individual pictures together to make a collective artwork for your classroom.

Key themes: Creativity, tohu/symbols, environment, identity, storytelling, visual literacy, politics

Primary, Intermediate, Secondary: Year 1 - 13
Cost: Free
Duration: 60 – 75 minutes
Subject areas: Visual Arts, Languages, Math, Social Sciences