Emily Gavan
Weaver, Mum, Wife, Business owner.
I am a mum to Four beautiful tamariki who live away from their culture, Marae and wider Whanau, so undertaking a bachelor in Māori Art is my way of giving them something of theirs, while we are far from home.
My work is a mix of very practical pieces and a bit of flare here and there. I believe in using everything for a purpose.
emilystrang9@gmail.com
Studio on the Square Art Competition
Studio on the Square Painting Competition and Exhibition 2024.
There are pieces from local artists of all ages, styles and disciplines!
Ngā Toi Harakeke
In 2014, along with my tuakana Georgia we both began our mahi toi journey through Te Wānanga O Aotearoa with the intention of learning how to weave kete, potae and putiputi but as we progressed, what we learned upon reflection, was through being immersed in a te ao Māori space we realised how truly disconnected we had been to our own culture and as a bi product of learning mahi toi and the mātauranga, tikanga, waiata, karakia and pūrākau that go along with it, we were connecting. This created a desire to want more connection to whanau, hapu and iwi and it all started with kete, potae and putiputi. – Corrinne Tripp
Puanga Exhibition | He Aho Tangata
Immerse yourself in the varied forms of Toi Rangitāne crafted by seven different tohunga who all hail from Rangitāne ki Manawatū. Celebrate Puanga through the medium of art, seen through a Māori lens.
Untold Stories: WW2 Displaced Persons who settled in Palmerston North
Untold Stories is more than a family history research journey. It uncovers a part of New Zealand history that is largely unknown. The aim of this project is not only to tell six family stories, but also to fill that historical gap. By presenting the fascinating and vital stories of these people who settled in Palmerston North, we also want to reveal the complicated and true history of war time Europe.
These people were part of up to 5,000 Displaced Persons who came from across central, eastern and southern Europe to New Zealand, fleeing the ravages of World War Two and, in some cases, civil wars. After the war, New Zealand wanted skilled labour, but with its assimilation policy, it did not always make settling in easy for the Displaced People. However, about 4,000 of these DPs were welcomed at the Pahīatua Camp where they learned English and about New Zealand life and customs.
We believe their stories can teach us much about accepting people from different cultures and the value and cultural richness they bring to our country. If the aim of New Zealand’s policy was to gain valuable skilled workers, then it fulfilled that aim.
The researchers and writers of the Untold Stories are all descendants of DPs and were brought up and educated in Palmerston North. To create the exhibition, we have dug deep into our family albums and papers and had to apply for New Zealand archival immigration documents that are still held under restrictions. We have discovered aspects of our parents lives and heritage that we never knew. Our desire for the future of this project is to inspire and help other descendants of DPs to write their stories. We also hope the exhibition will inspire you all to write your family stories and patiently ask questions before it is too late.
The Untold Stories project is funded generously by the Earle Creative Trust and supported by Square Edge Community Arts Centre, Freedom Plus, Warwick Smith, Nick Watson, the Pahīatua Museum and the Heritage Dept. of the Palmerston North City Library. We wish to acknowledge the generosity of many community members from across New Zealand who have come forward with help, information and resources that enabled us to create this exhibition, film and book.
Untold Stories team 2024: Dr Tania Kopytko, Mary Zambazos, Mychelle Mihailof,
Quantum Alchemy | Pari Rao
Quantum Alchemy was born out of a physics experiment I saw at school,
where my teacher nonchalantly showed us how to bend light and make
colours with tape and polarised film. This moment inspired me to create a
collection of sculptures which all highlight or utilise the principles of Physics
in a way which can be appreciated by a wider audience. With the help of the
PNCC, I was able to make my vision a reality, and my wish is to continue
creating and displaying sculptures such as these as time goes on, because
after all the science behind the artworks never ceases to occur, and the
emotions we feel towards art never ceases to exist.
Old Vessels | Julia Tanner
I am an emerging local artist, from Palmerston North. This exhibition focusses on Old vessels, trying to capture their personality. Following Van Gogh, the paint has been applied extremely thickly and in predominantly unblended brushstrokes. In my previous exhibition, I applied the same style to my flower paintings (which were inspired by Van Gogh and Mondrian’s flower paintings).
A day at a time – Tending to the seasons of grief.
The artwork in ‘a day at a time: tending to the seasons of grief’ explores the ever-shifting tides of grief and some of the things that have been a support to Cheleigh over the last couple of years as she has navigated losing many people in her world.
1970s DECADE OF PROTEST
Political action hit the headlines in the Manawatū and across New Zealand in the 1970s. People took to the streets for civil liberties, peace, the environment, human rights and tino ramgitiratanga, and against racism, apartheid, inequality and injustice in its many forms
Asher, Clayton, Tui | SAY LESS, SEE MORE
A. R. Newbery, C. Tansley and T. Whareaitu are Pāmutana based Māori artists, museum infiltrators and friends.
We invite you to our first show together, SAY LESS, SEE MORE, a kaupapa driven collection of artworks gathered to interrogate the state of the government, the environment and the injustice visited upon our fellow tangata whenua around the world.
MISCELLANY ~ a mixture from the motu
Miscellany is a five-part collection of books from around Aotearoa. Two of the categories are collaborations between members of the Association of Hand Printers and the Association of Book Crafts. Bug Books 2022 and Fairy Tales 2023 gave the printers and binders free rein to interpret the themes as they wished. Miniature You Are Quoting Shakespeare books celebrate the 400th anniversary of the printing of the Bard’s First Folio and there are a few examples of the 2022 New From Old competition. Lastly, there are several entries from the inaugural John Sansom Memorial Competition.
All in all these books showcase the depth and breadth of the printing and binding crafts in Aotearoa.
Samuel Scully | Going West
Samuel Scully is an early career photographic artist based in Poneke / Wellington. Concerned with the world around him, Samuel aims to decipher the underlying rhythms that contribute to our shared understanding of lived experience. Primarily working within the modern tradition of ‘post documentary’ Samuel uses the interplay of subject and perspective to create new narratives in his long form photographic projects. Going West aims to act as a poetic reconstruction of the known rhythms of development in young men’s lives within rural Aotearoa / New Zealand.