Exhibition celebrates new beginnings with te whare pora
A new exhibition showcasing te whare pora (the art of weaving) will launch at the Taupō Museum this Saturday.
The exhibition, Poipoia, Ngā Pia o Te Whare Pora, will include a range of works created by students from Te Wananga o Aotearoa, alongside the Museum’s own collection. Visitors can expect to see kono (baskets), kete (kit) and kakahu (cloaks).
Taupō Museum curator Piata Winitana-Murray said the exhibition also celebrates Matariki (Māori New Year), the star constellation that signals the new year in Māori traditions.
“We’re very proud to exhibit works from both past and present raranga students from Te Wananga o Aotearoa in Turangi, alongside woven pieces from the Museum’s collection.
“These works celebrate the journey of weaving from pia (trainee) to tohunga (expert), exchanging, conversing, as learner and teacher, while under the guiding constellation of Matariki.”
Notable pieces on display include a large, collective piece titled ‘Puawaitanga’ which was created by Te Wananga o Aotearoa students in 2014. As well as a kahu puakarimu (rain cape), a replica of a rare kakahu housed at Te Papa which uses dyed red and black club moss, which was woven by former kaiako (tutor) Margaret Belshaw.
The exhibition is open from this Saturday 19 June through until Friday August 2. Taupō Museum is open seven days from 10am to 4.30pm and entry is free to Taupō District residents with proof of address.
Some Choice News!
DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.
Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.
For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.
Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?
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