Kia ora! Join us at midday on Saturday, 24th June in the Ō Papa Gallery, for a kōrero between Tia Barrett, Isla Huia, and Juanita Hepi on He Pounamu Ko Āu.
  

Whilst these three creative wāhine are involved in different disciplines - Māori moving image, poetry, and performance art - they are strongly interlinked with the motif of Atua Wāhine Māori.
  

Atua Wāhine Māori is a significant part of each speaker's practice, and is notable within the exhibition He Pounamu Ko Āu, where artist Tia Barrett combines traditional Māori motifs and contemporary art techniques, highlighting intergenerational relationships and the magnitude of whakapapa in pounamu.
  

Isla will be accompanying the kōrero with a reading from her new book Talia.
  

He Pounamu Ko Āu is an exhibition that celebrates and preserves Māori culture and traditions while addressing contemporary issues and struggles of Māori learners in the New Zealand education system. It tells the story of mana wāhine Māori resilience and perseverance, likening it to the journey of pounamu rising to the surface of the earth's crust.

  
Tia Barrett was born and raised in Ōtautahi, and is now living in Kirikiriroa. She is an emerging Maori moving image and photography practitioner. Her current practice is firmly grounded in celebrating her wahine Māori identity and deepening her connection to whenua through a lens-based practice. She is a 2023 Te Tumu Toi Arts Foundation Springboard recipient and recently graduated with an MVA, first class honours, from AUT. He Pounamu Ko Āu was an outcome of her Masters and a tribute to her Ngāi Tahutanga.
  

Isla Huia (Te Āti Haunui a-Pāpārangi, Uenuku) is a te reo Māori teacher, writer and musician. Her work has been published in journals such as Catalyst and Awa Wāhine, and her debut collection of poetry, Talia, was released in May 2023 with Dead Bird Books Publishers. She has performed at the national finals of Rising Voices Youth Poetry Slam and the National Poetry Slam, as well as at Christchurch’s Word Festival. Isla can most often be found writing in Ōtautahi with FIKA Collective, and Ōtautahi Kaituhi Māori.
  

Juanita Hepi, Kāi Tahu, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngati Wai, Ngāpuhi, is a multidisciplinary storyteller exploring the intersections of race, class and gender through indigenous storytelling. She holds a Masters of Māori and Indigenous Leadership, a Graduate Diploma of Teaching and Learning, and a Bachelor of Arts from Toi Whakaari, the NZ Drama School. Juanita has performed across Aotearoa and at Shakespeare’s Globe in London. She produces, writes, directs and collaborates on numerous projects including upcoming Hine Hōia with Chamber Music NZ to the intimate solo Ariā. Juanita is a staunch advocate and enabler of arts and artists in Ōtautahi Christchurch