Tīpurepure Au Va'ine
Tīpurepure Au Vai'ne, installation view. Courtesy of Cheska Brown.
now on
22 Mar
–
23 Mar
Tīpurepure Au Va'ine
Tīpurepure Au Va’ine is an exhibition featuring the works of the Porirua based Cook Islands sewing group of the same name and multi-disciplinary artist, Jamie Berry. Through the work of tīvaevae and soundscape, these artists pay homage to whakapapa, imagery and oro (sound) reminiscent of their homelands. This offsite exhibition at Begonia House, curated by Tehani Ngapare Rau-Te-Tara Buchanan, honours the many Cook Islanders who have found Begonia House to be a place of connection and inspiration while living in the diaspora.
Curated by Tehani Ngapare Rau-Te-Tara Buchanan
Past Event
Exhibition Opening: Tīpurepure Au Va'ine
Pō Whakanui: Rāmere 21 Poutūterangi, 6pm
Opening: Friday 21 March, 6pm
Join us from 6pm Friday 21 at Begonia House to celebrate the opening of this exhibition with Tīpurepure Au Va'ine.
More info
Designed by Joe Locke.
Tīpurepure Au Va’ine is a Porirua based group of va’ine (women) from across the Cook Islands that participate, learn and teach the artform of tīvaevae (hand quilting). Gathering weekly, the mamas (elder women) and mokopuna (grandchildren) share ancestral knowledge, akapapa’anga (genealogy) and a healthy dose of community gossip in Cook Islands Māori that flows freely between joyous laughter. Skilled in a variety of hand embroidery techniques, pattern making and colour, the va’ine of Tīpurepure Au Va’ine create tīvaevae that challenge traditional norms, resulting in tīvaevae that are unique and identifiable to their makers. Their tīvaevae have been exhibited throughout the years including at Pātaka, Enjoy Contemporary Art Space and Object Space in Tāmaki Makau-Rau.
Tīpurepure Au Va’ine operate an open door and welcome new members who want to learn this distinctive artform.
Current members:
Te Tua o Te Rai Akaiti Samuel (Aitutaki, Manihiki, Rakahanga)
Miimetua Pareina (1944-2017) (Mangaia)
Reuera Vaerua (Aitutaki, Rarotonga)
Upokoina O Teariki Puia Aerengamate Tekeu (Rarotonga)
Teremoana O Maua Hodges (Atiu, Rarotonga)
Reverend Mau Vaerua (Aitutaki), patron
Margaret Thompson (Aitutaki, Manihiki, Rakahanga)
Teremoana Ngatoro (Aitutaki, Nukuroa, Rarotonga)
Tehani Ngapare Rau-Te-Tara Buchanan (Aitutaki, Rarotonga, Nukuroa)
Portia Tiare McQueen (Mangaia)
Noopai Burns (Nukuroa)
Toni Rasmussen (Nukuroa, Rarotonga)
Mosie Maoate (Aitutaki)
Kura Hakirere Edwards (Aitutaki, Manihiki, Rakahanga)
Turaarii Ngatupunga (Rarotonga, Aitutaki, Mangaia)
Jamie Berry (Ngāti Ruanui, Ngāti Porou, Te Aitanga-a-Mahaki, Rongowhakaata, Ngāpuhi) a Multidisciplinary Artist from Tūranganui-a-kiwa now in Pōneke, creates art exploring Aotearoa histories and her identity. Her work, rooted in whakapapa, blends digital content, DNA soundscape, and installation to reimagine stories. She delves into frequency, vibration and energy's impact using her DNA code, meditative frequencies, and natural elements. As a Digital Artist at Tātai Aho Rau, she works on projects like brand identity and animation. Additionally, Jamie explores soundscape, moving image, and installation. Her work has been showcased globally, including at the Oberhausen Film Festival and winning the Momentous Music Awards for "Māreikura Lumina" in collaboration with other artists.
Tehani Ngapare Rau-Te-Tara Buchanan (she/her/ia) is an educator, Senior Advisor for a Government org, writer, māmā of two and curator of beautiful things. Born in Rarotonga, she is of Cook Islands Māori (Aitutaki, Rarotonga, Mitiaro, Mangaia) and Scottish descent.
Finding joy in interior design, fashion styling, creative direction, writing and conceptual experiences, Tehani’s creative practice centres on life experiences, self-expression as a healing modality and indigenous reclamation. Her current artistic focus is learning the art of tivaevae, under the nurturing tutelage of local Cook Islands mamas, imbuing a unique perspective to the traditional art form.
Tehani is based in Parirua, Te Whanganui-a-Tara with her two children, Amalija & Gabrijel and is committed to raising her children in their culture and reo rangatira.
Low Tide
Still from Low Tide. Image courtesy of Manu Vaea.
now on
15 Feb
–
29 Mar
Manu Vaea
Low Tide emerges as a contemplation of queer mundanity. Through the mundane, Manuha’apai Vaeatangitau (Manu Vaea) counteracts the pressure to be extraordinary and instead highlights the quiet, repetitive and often unremarkable moments that define everyday life.
By insisting on the ordinary, Vaea aims to “induce a state that allows for emotions to simmer under the skin without a need for expression.” [1] She has been shaped by ties to family, space and place in Tāmaki Makaurau and Tonga, observing that “these geographies often serve as sacred, yet fractured mirrors, reflecting back my own inner turbulence.” [2] Scenes from the domestic life of the artist in both of her homes in Tāmaki and Tonga feature moments alone, art-making with whānau and nights out with friends. Centering Low Tide around queer mundanity and what sits in the cracks of that—grief, malaise, regret—has allowed Vaea to work through her own mamae without resorting to the oft-overused trauma and pervasive larger-than-life love narratives regularly imposed on queerness.
1. Email correspondence with the artist, 27/01/2025.
2. Ibid.
Past Event
Artist Talks: Catherine Griffiths and Manu Vaea
Join us on Saturday 15 February at 2pm for a casual kōrero with artists Manu Vaea and Catherine Griffiths, as they discuss their projects Low Tide and Iterations/Alterations.
More infoManuha’apai Vaeatangitau (Lapaha, ‘Utulau, Tongatapu), an interdisciplinary artist based in Tāmaki Makaurau, explores themes of eroticism and critical fabulation, reasserting queer Pacific identities in social and cultural contexts. A 2019 Prime Minister’s Pacific Youth Award winner in Arts and Creativity, her work has been exhibited in Auckland and Wellington. Key projects include her 2021 solo exhibition Tupu’anga o Leitī at Moana Fresh Kū Kahiko Gallery, the 2022 installation Kindred: A Leitī Chronicle with Sione Monū at Auckland Art Gallery, and her 2023 Aniva Arts Residency exhibition Koe Tau’atāina o e Leitī at Pātaka Art + Museum. In 2024, she contributed to Auckland Art Gallery’s Aotearoa Contemporary triennial.
Rutu, Rongo and Rita
Maungarongo Te Kawa, Rutu, Rongo and Rita, 2025, installation view. Image courtesy of Cheska Brown.
now on
15 Feb
–
29 Mar
Maungarongo (Ron) Te Kawa
Maungarongo (Ron) Te Kawa’s exhibition Rutu, Rongo and Rita originated last summer, when the artist spent time as the Rita Angus resident at the historic cottage in Te Whanganui-a-Tara.
During this period, Te Kawa researched Angus while beginning a series of nine wall hangings. Angus’ painting Rutu (1951) in particular interested him. While the work is often referred to as one of Angus’ many self-portraits, Bronwyn Lloyd notes that Angus herself considered it an “imaginary portrait.” [1] Described as a “beautiful, incongruous mash-up of cultures” by Matariki Williams, Rutu is “the most visible and well-known exemplar of a person of colour in Angus’s catalogue” [2], an aspect that holds Te Kawa’s attention as he explores the themes of skin colour politics in Aotearoa’s past, present, and future. In Rutu Goes to Waitangi for Target Practice (2024-25), Te Kawa asks what kind of Pākehā Rutu would be now; ultimately believing that she would be covered in “Tino Rangatiratanga swag…hurling dildos at David Seymour.” [3] Expanding beyond Rutu, he has taken figures from Māori mythology such as Pania of the Reef and pop culture including Amy Winehouse, and re-envisioned them with compassion, humour and hope. The works displayed in this exhibition are an exploration into the themes of skin colour politics in Aotearoa’s past, present, and future.
1. Bronwyn Llyod, “Rutu”, Te Papa, https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/object/39499.
2. Matariki Williams, “Rita and Rutu”, Newsroom, 01/02/2022, https://newsroom.co.nz/2022/02/01/waitangi-week-rita-in-blackface/.
3. Email correspondence with the artist, 20/01/2025.
Maungarongo Te Kawa is a contemporary takatāpui fabric artist, tutor, and storyteller. Grounded in te ao Māori, his practice makes old pūrākau newly relevant to modern life through the use of brilliant colour, fluid design, and infectious good humour.
Past Event
Workshop with Maungarongo Te Kawa
Join us at 1pm on Saturday 15 March for an art-making workshop with Maungarongo Te Kawa, who will be sharing how to create a 'sparkle guardian' original work of art. We will be providing sticker board textiles and scissors for quick making, but feel free to bring along old textiles to upcycle.
More info
Maungarongo Te Kawa, Rutu, Rongo and Rita, 2025, installation view. Image courtesy of Cheska Brown.
Maungarongo Te Kawa, Rutu, Rongo and Rita, 2025, installation view. Image courtesy of Cheska Brown.
Maungarongo Te Kawa, I$I$ of Napier (legs of gold), 2025, found, recycled and new fabrics, installation view. Image courtesy of Cheska Brown
Maungarongo Te Kawa, Rutu, Rongo and Rita, 2025, installation view. Image courtesy of Cheska Brown.
Maungarongo Te Kawa, Rutu, Rongo and Rita, 2025, installation view. Image courtesy of Cheska Brown.
Maungarongo Te Kawa, Kahuninja (Piao Piao), 2025, found, recycled and new fabrics, detail. Image courtesy of Cheska Brown.
Maungarongo Te Kawa, Rutu Make Me Some Eggs, 2025, found, recycled and new fabrics, detail. Image courtesy of Cheska Brown.
Maungarongo Te Kawa, Rutu Goes to Waitangi for Target Practice, 2025, found, recycled and new fabrics, detail. Image courtesy of Cheska Brown.
The Rita Angus Residency is a yearly artist residency jointly organised by Enjoy Contemporary Art Space and the Rita Angus Cottage Trust.
Iterations / Alterations
Catherine Griffiths, Iterations/Alterations, 2025, installation view. Image Courtesy of Cheska Brown.
now on
15 Feb
–
29 Mar
Catherine Griffiths
In Iterations/Alterations, Catherine Griffiths expands upon her past work while also responding to current events. Griffiths presents a body of work that is ever-evolving, referencing global social and political issues. Unwavering support of Palestine is a focus for the artist, who interrogates her priorities and perspectives amidst the genocide being committed by Israel. Included in this exhibition is a limited edition run of GAZ/A prints—the proceeds from which will go to a charity supporting Palestinians in Gaza.
In Iterations/Alterations, Catherine Griffiths expands upon her past work, W in Black (2017)—two algorithmic compositions, five ‘W’s made in support of the Women’s March protesting the inauguration of the US president—with W in Blood (2025), in response to the blood on the hands of world leaders complicit in the Zionist project. The artist refers to this iteration of the works at Enjoy as a diptych with void, referencing the walls standing adjacent to each other with the open space between them acting as a void—a place for visitors to pause for thought. Griffiths has been interrogating her own priorities and perspectives. Returning to What is my threshold now? (2017/2024), she questions what really matters and where her practice sits within the context of “a genocide being committed by Israel against Palestinians in Gaza playing out in real-time on social media.” [1] The GAZ/A series (2024) came about as a result of Griffiths’ time spent in Paris during 2023 and 2024, when she began documenting the cast iron gas covers she saw throughout the streets. The resulting concertina features a selection of photographs of these GAZ covers with Griffiths’ hand drawn ‘A’ atop them. GAZ/A scrutinizes “Israel's premeditated intentions to displace the Palestinians from their historical lands and confiscate their natural resources.” [2] Included in this exhibition is a limited edition run of GAZ/A prints—77% of the proceeds from which will go to a charity supporting Palestinians in Gaza, the Gaza Great Minds Foundation.
1. Correspondence with the artist, 06/01/2025.
2. Walid Abuhelal, "The War on Gaza is also an Israeli drive to seize Palestinian gas reserves”, Middle East Eye, 20 February 2024.
Past Event
Artist Talks: Catherine Griffiths and Manu Vaea
Join us on Saturday 15 February at 2pm for a casual kōrero with artists Manu Vaea and Catherine Griffiths, as they discuss their projects Low Tide and Iterations/Alterations.
More info
Catherine Griffiths, Iterations/Alterations, 2025, installation view. Image Courtesy of Cheska Brown.
Catherine Griffiths, Iterations/Alterations, 2025, installation view. Image Courtesy of Cheska Brown.
Catherine Griffiths, W in Black, 2017/2024, silk-screen prints, silver ink, Colorplan. Image courtesy of Catherine Griffiths, 2025.
Catherine Griffiths, Iterations/Alterations, 2025, installation view. Image Courtesy of Cheska Brown.
Catherine Griffiths, GAZ/A, 2024, concertina, digital prints, Colorplan. Image courtesy of Cheska Brown.
Catherine Griffiths, GAZ/A, 2024, concertina, digital prints, Colorplan. Image courtesy of Jinki Cambronero, 2025.
Catherine Griffiths, Iterations/Alterations, 2025, installation view. Image Courtesy of Cheska Brown.
Catherine Griffiths, Iterations/Alterations, 2025, installation view. Image Courtesy of Cheska Brown.
Catherine Griffiths and Bruce Connew hold Abolish Zionism banner, 2024, acrylic on cotton banner. Image courtesy of Jinki Cambronero, 2025.
Catherine Griffiths, Iterations/Alterations, 2025, installation view. Image Courtesy of Cheska Brown.
![Catherine Griffiths, What is my threshold now? Archive of collected hair [artist's own], steel box, light, shadows cast, numbered paper packets, exposed, 2024, lithograph, black and silver inks, Hahnemühle Copperplate. Image courtesy of Catherine Griffiths.](/media/cache/6c/b5/6cb5ab05f6cb314d271cf6ffdac8bb4a.png)
Catherine Griffiths, What is my threshold now? Archive of collected hair [artist's own], steel box, light, shadows cast, numbered paper packets, exposed, 2024, lithograph, black and silver inks, Hahnemühle Copperplate. Image courtesy of Catherine Griffiths.
![Catherine Griffiths, What is my threshold now? Archive of collected hair [artist's own], steel box, light, shadows cast, numbered paper packets, exposed, 2024, lithograph, black and silver inks, Hahnemühle Copperplate. Image courtesy of Catherine Griffiths.](/media/cache/46/3e/463e2b575f09c2721f095cd621274334.jpg)
Catherine Griffiths, What is my threshold now? Archive of collected hair [artist's own], steel box, light, shadows cast, numbered paper packets, exposed, 2024, lithograph, black and silver inks, Hahnemühle Copperplate. Image courtesy of Catherine Griffiths.
Catherine Griffiths, Pākehā, is an artist, typographer, designer, educator, curator, writer, publisher, activist, feminist, who lives in Aotearoa New Zealand and, intermittently, France.