From Ngāpuhi to Bungalung: A Review of Ngā Toki

19 November 2020, The Pantograph Punch

Indigenous artists unite under the korowai of Te Taitokerau Māori Artists Collective. Jade Kake responds to Ngā Toki at Hīhīaua Cultural Centre.

We gather on the deck of Hīhīaua Cultural Centre in Whangārei, named for an ancestral fishing village, a māhinga kai for hīhī and aua. The building itself sits on reclaimed land, 300 metres or so from the original site, taken under the Whangārei Harbour Act 1907. There are familiar faces, kihi and a strong hau kāinga turnout, most gathered are Māori. As we comment on hapū politics and local gossip, grey clouds threaten, and we’re grateful for a break in the rain and the unpredictable spring weather.

The kāranga begins and we file in, wāhine first and then tāne. There is a response to the call from one of the tāne, as is customary in Ngāpuhi. To the left is an area for manuhiri, inside the doors and on the raised platform area. We spill out, down the ramp and out onto the floor – into the exhibition space. Light filters in through clear roof sheeting, it illuminates the artworks in the floor area. The building, Hīhīaua Cultural Centre, has just won a national award for public architecture, and it’s gratifying to see a Māori kaupapa recognised in this way.