Upcoming Event

Panel discussion Hawaiki Apōpz

Next on:

Hātarei 20 Hune

Saturday 20 June

2026

11:30 AM

Blue Oyster Art Project Space

Install photograph of Newanewa - Ngaumutane Jones

Install photograph of Wharerau Newanewa by Ngaumutane Jones

Join us for the opening kōrero of Hawaiki Apōpz and Ghost Hiikoi 2!

 

Artists Ngaumu Jones, Keita Newbery, Mara Tk and ilish thomas will be in conversation with curators Te Ikahoungata and Piupiu Maya Turei about the ideas, ethos and vibes interwoven within Hawaiki Apōpz and Ghost Hiikoi 2

 

These two exhibitons sit alongside each other (Hawaiki Apōpz in Oyster Gallery and Ghost Hiikoi 2 in Pearl Gallery) during the Puaka Matariki season. Both exhibitions offer mediations all about rest, recovery, dreaming and honouring those who have passed. 

Event accessibility information:
No registration required.
Light refreshments are provided, please keep kai in the foyer space.


This talk will go for about an hour. A few chairs will be available in the gallery, but this is a small space! We may spill into the adjoining gallery space; please arrive early to get a good spot.


Access to the gallery is via a slope and three steps. A temporary ramp will be in place to enable wheeled access.
There is a toilet on-site (not wheelchair accessible).

Ngaumutane Jones

Ngaumutane Jones (Kāi Tahu, Ngāti Kahungunu, Tūhoe, Tainui) is a multidisciplinary ringatoi and the creative brain behind Umu Creative. Ngaumutane’s practice explores whakapapa, Te Taiao and pūrākau Māori through textiles, installation and graphic design. She is a recent recipient of the Paemanu Summer Art Residency, spending time at her Kāi Tahu marae, which has heavily influenced her work and strengthened her whakapapa connections within Te Waipounamu. In 2024 she exhibited Ngā Manawa in the Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival, where her interest in installation and public art grew. Her ability to weave together worlds of her millennial upbringing and pūrākau Māori is enchanting. 

Keita Newbery

He kaitiaki taiao, he māmā, he kaiwhakaahua a Keita Newbery (Tūhoe, Ngāti Porou). Knowing a member of the Newbery whānau is like finding a long-lost cousin. She has a dark humour that only whānau could understand. Manaakitanga that makes you want to become a better person and an aroha that makes your bottom lip quiver. Keita has captured our people in the most ordinary yet extraordinary moments, carrying the roles and responsibilities laid upon us long before we were ready. 

Mara TK

Mara TK (Rangitāne, Ngāti Kahungunu, Kāi Tahu, Tainui) is a writer, composer, sound artist and musician whose art evolves from a kaupapa Māori base. A longtime collaborator of Mara is Māori art curator Megan Tamati-Quennell (Te Atiawa, Ngāti Mūtunga, Ngai Tahu, Kāti Mamoe and Waitaha).Their projects together include: Hīnaki: Contemplation of a Form - Te Papa 2023 (tāonga/artefacts, sound, sculpture and archival photos). Ngā Mata ō Hina with Daniel Boyd- Sharjah Art Biennial, UAE 2025 (site specific installation, paintings, sound composition), River to River, Mai i te Awa ki te Moana composed with Rana Hamida and Reem Sawan and exhibited with Raven Chacon-Sharjah Art Biennial, UAE 2025 (sound composition,photography). Mara’s work in Hawaiki Apōpz channels the outer workings of the universe. 

Te Ikahoungata

Te Ikahoungata (Rangitāne, Ngāi Tara, Ngāti Ira) is a disabled wahine Māori, curator, graphic designer, māmā and community member. Since her relocation to Te Ika a Maui, Te Ikahoungata has reimagined her relationship with Te Ao Māori. Living on Ngāti Raukawa whenua in Ōtaki allows Te Ikahoungata and her partner to prioritise rest and relationship with both Te Taiao and humanity. Te Ikahoungata is interested in opening portals with kai as rongoa, moving slowly with Hina, and swimming in the Ōtaki awa with kuri and chosen whānau.

ilish thomas

ilish is an multidisciplinary artist whose practice explores the complexity of the mixed indigi & South Asian diasporic identity through themes of whakapapa, memory, grief, loss, and belonging - both personal and collective. Working across textiles, analogue and digital video, audio, and other archival strategies, they seek to engage modes of storytelling and oral histories as tools for cultural navigation and mediation. Central to her work is a focus on ‘in-betweenness’, and of dreaming new political imaginaries.