MAREIKURA WINS TIME OUT AWARD FOR BEST MUSEUM EXHIBITION
Māreikura - Ka rere te rongoā (the medicine flows) picked up the Critics Choice for Best Museum Exhibition at the annual Time Out Arts & Culture Awards on Monday night.
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Self-portrait, Irihipeti Waretini. Source: Museums Victoria
Māreikura - Ka rere te rongoā (the medicine flows) picked up the Critics Choice for Best Museum Exhibition at the annual Time Out Arts & Culture Awards on Monday night. Presented last year at Immigration Museum, the exhibition presented traditional Māori cultural ways in a contemporary, dramatic show of story, place and community.
Created by multi-disciplinary storyteller Irihipeti Waretini as part of the Culture Makers program, the exhibition featured 15 stunning photographic portraits of Māori women with moko kauae (traditional chin tattoos), multimedia art, film and a carved pou (pillar).
‘Moko kauae has direct systemic healing mechanisms for Māori and anyone who beholds us wearing it,’ said Irihipeti.
Of her first solo exhibition, she said: ‘I wanted to create a healing space that is starved of any experiences of Western cultural dominance.’
The exhibition aimed to communicate the strength and power of the Māori matriarchy through the mediums of contemporary Māori art in multimedia, performance art, photography, film and soundscapes.
On winning the Time Out Award, Irihipeti said: 'Māreikura mā, we celebrate you.'
Immigration Museum general manager Rohini Kappadath said: 'This beautiful exhibition was so well received last year, so we are thrilled, but not surprised, that Māreikura has picked up this award.
‘Māreikura embodied Culture Makers’ vision of promoting inclusivity and social harmony, building on Museums Victoria’s commitment to breaking down barriers to participation for diverse practitioners and audiences.’
Culture Makers has been made possible thanks to the generous support of the Scanlon Foundation.
Created by multi-disciplinary storyteller Irihipeti Waretini as part of the Culture Makers program, the exhibition featured 15 stunning photographic portraits of Māori women with moko kauae (traditional chin tattoos), multimedia art, film and a carved pou (pillar).
‘Moko kauae has direct systemic healing mechanisms for Māori and anyone who beholds us wearing it,’ said Irihipeti.
Of her first solo exhibition, she said: ‘I wanted to create a healing space that is starved of any experiences of Western cultural dominance.’
The exhibition aimed to communicate the strength and power of the Māori matriarchy through the mediums of contemporary Māori art in multimedia, performance art, photography, film and soundscapes.
On winning the Time Out Award, Irihipeti said: 'Māreikura mā, we celebrate you.'
Immigration Museum general manager Rohini Kappadath said: 'This beautiful exhibition was so well received last year, so we are thrilled, but not surprised, that Māreikura has picked up this award.
‘Māreikura embodied Culture Makers’ vision of promoting inclusivity and social harmony, building on Museums Victoria’s commitment to breaking down barriers to participation for diverse practitioners and audiences.’
Culture Makers has been made possible thanks to the generous support of the Scanlon Foundation.