‘Āhuataka: a Wanaka of Kāi Tahu Woven Adornment’
Curated by CoCA Toi Moroki’s 2025 Emerging Curator Dr Ereni Pūtere
Image caption: A selection of whakakai woven by Ereni Pūtere that will be on display in the exhibition.
17.10.25
10.11.25
'Āhuataka: A Wānaka of Kāi Tahu Woven Adornment' celebrates the living practice of traditional Māori weaving founded in ancestral connection and cultural continuity.
Curated by CoCA Toi Moroki’s 2025 Emerging Curator Dr Ereni Pūtere, Āhuataka: A Wānaka of Kāi Tahu Woven Adornment celebrates the living practice of traditional Māori weaving founded in ancestral connection and cultural continuity.
The exhibition brings together a wānaka (community) of Kāi Tahu arts practitioners, including Paula Rigby, Fayne Robinson, Isaac Te Awa and Dr Ereni Pūtere, sharing how whakakai (adornments) are crafted with ancestral methods to represent whakapapa (ancestral connection) and cultural identity in Māori personal dress. Their whakakai will stand alongside taoka tupuna (ancestral treasures) held by Canterbury Museum.
“Through bridging the traditional and contemporary, Āhuataka honours weaving today as an unbroken tradition of artistic excellence passed to us from our tūpuna (ancestors) that continues to craft new taoka that carry our whakapapa and Kāi Tahutaka (tribal identity) in this ao hurihuri, the ever-moving contemporary world.” – Dr Ereni Pūtere
This exhibition is supported by Christchurch City Council’s Creative Communities Scheme.
'Āhuataka: A Wānaka of Kāi Tāhu Woven Adornment', Gallery View, Photo Credit Owen Spargo
Works by Paula Rigby, Ereni Pūtere, Isaac Te Awa and Fayne Robinson. 'Āhuataka: A Wānaka of Kāi Tāhu Woven Adornment', Photo Credit Owen Spargo
Paula Rigby - 'Kahu piu' - Pōkinikini, kātene. 'Āhuataka: A Wānaka of Kāi Tāhu Woven Adornment', Photo Credit Owen Spargo
Ereni Pūtere: 'Kete kuihi' - detail, Kātene, wūru, huru kuihi. 'Aoraki, he kete tāniko' - detail, Kātene, wūru. 'Kaihīnaki, he kete tāniko' - detail, Kātene, wūru. 'Āhuataka: A Wānaka of Kāi Tāhu Woven Adornment' , Photo Credit Owen Spargo
Isaac Te Awa - 'Hei houhi' - Houhi, whītau, tae. Ereni Pūtere - 'Te Taura Tākata, he hei kano kōwhai' - Kano kōwhai, muka, aho. Fayne Robinson - 'Tiki Aotea' - Aotea pounamu, pāua, taura iwituna. 'Āhuataka: A Wānaka of Kāi Tāhu Woven Adornment', Photo Credit Owen Spargo
'Āhuataka: A Wānaka of Kāi Tāhu Woven Adornment' - Gallery View. Photo Credit Owen Spargo
'Āhuataka: A Wānaka of Kāi Tāhu Woven Adornment'. Works on loan from Canterbury Museum. Gallery View, Photo Credit Owen Spargo
Isaac Te Awa - 'Kete houhi' - detail - Houhi, muka, tae. Fayne Robinson - 'Manaia Aotea' - Aotea pounamu, taura iwituna. 'Āhuataka: A Wānaka of Kāi Tāhu Woven Adornment', Photo Credit Owen Spargo
Ereni Pūtere - 'Uenuku, he hei wheua kekeno' - Whītau, kura, kuratea, aumoana, pukepoto, kerewhenua, wheua kekeno, kūtai. 'Āhuataka: A Wānaka of Kāi Tāhu Woven Adornment', Photo Credit Owen Spargo
Ereni Pūtere - 'Pōtae tāniko' Kātene, papaka, kūtorotoro. 'Āhuataka: A Wānaka of Kāi Tāhu Woven Adornment', Photo Credit Owen Spargo
Works by Isaac Te Awa, Ereni Pūtere, Fayne Robinson and Paula Rigby. 'Āhuataka: A Wānaka of Kāi Tāhu Woven Adornment' Photo Credit Owen Spargo
Works by Ereni Putere, Paula Rigby, Isaac Te Awa and Fayne Robinson. 'Āhuataka: A Wānaka of Kāi Tahu Woven Adornment'. Photo Credit Owen Spargo
Ereni Pūtere - Te Waiatataka Mai, he hue puruhau' - Hue, pani aumoana. 'Āhuataka: A Wānaka of Kāi Tāhu Woven Adornment', Photo Credit Owen Spargo
Ereni Pūtere - 'Tarapouahi' - Whītau, huru kūkū, tī. 'Āhuataka: A Wānaka of Kāi Tāhu Woven Adornment', Photo Credit Owen Spargo
Te Keteparaha o Mua – Tools of Old: Kūtai, Kotakota, Matau, Toka - Canterbury Museum. He kohikohika pātui, Wheua - Canterbury Museum. 'Āhuataka: A Wānaka of Kāi Tāhu Woven Adornment', Photo Credit Owen Spargo
Te Keteparaha o Nāianei – Tools of Today: Stanley knife, Kūtai, Needles. 'Āhuataka: A Wānaka of Kāi Tāhu Woven Adornment', Photo Credit Owen Spargo
The Curator
Nāia he kūmara nō Araiteuru ka ū ki uta, ki te kāika o Moeraki. Ko Kāi Tūāhuriri rātau ko Kāi Taoka, Kāti Kurī, Kāti Wairua kā hapū. Ko Kāi Tahu, Kāti Mamoe, Waitaha kā iwi. I tupua ake au ki Taranaki e Kāti Rāhiri o Te Ātiawa ā kua tau au ki te papakāika o Rehua.
Dr Ereni Pūtere – Early career artist, researcher, curator: Dr Ereni Pūtere (Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, Waitaha – Moeraki, Te Ātiawa – Ngāti Rāhiri) is a driven young toi Māori practitioner committed to celebrating her communities and their traditional practices. Ereni has been privileged to become a kaiwhatu-kākahu (traditional garment weaver) within Te Whare Pora through the mentorship of Paula Rigby. This traditional style of learning has established Ereni’s multi-disciplinary arts practice grounded in the methods, tikanga and whakapapa of Māori weaving. In August 2025, Ereni completed her PhD in History at the University of Canterbury, examining the intersections of Kāi Tahu traditional knowledge, mana wahine and toi Māori.
Exhibition Details
Click here to view the exhibition floorsheet
Click here to read the article in 03 Magazine by Tia Barrett