Nā Shakayla Andrews-Alapaki tēnei atikara.
Ōtautahi's Tūranga Library is opening a new exhibition celebrating mātauranga Māori and the rich Māori collections held within the city's central library.
WHAIAO, a new exhibition created by Māori Collections Specialist Ngāpiu Tainui-McClure, officially opened at Tūranga last Friday and will remain on display until November.
"To be in this position, to be able to share this with everyone is really valuable," Tainui-McClure said.
The exhibition is structured across four interconnected phases: Maunga, Whenua, Moana and Rangi.
"We've taken the natural environment around us and figured out how mātauranga Māori and our Māori information in a published form connects to our natural environment because we are people of the land," she said.
The exhibition begins with the Maunga phase, a deliberate choice Tainui-McClure said demonstrates how the framework can be entered from any point.
"Maunga, being the one that reflects everyone, felt like a really nice connection so that everyone can come in and feel a connection to the resources and a connection to something that is on one of those shelves."
"The cool thing about these phases is that they all kind of sit within the same space."
Alongside archival and published material, WHAIAO also features works from prominent Ngāi Tahu artists Morgan Darlinson, Kerepeti Paraone and Ariana Tikao.
Tainui-McClure said incorporating the artists' work, including video, visual art and sound installations, helped strengthen the cultural narratives woven throughout the exhibition.
"When I sent that artist brief to Morgan, I was like, 'Please, please accept it,' because I work in this building and I see her artwork every day, and one of the responsibilities in the role is to share that cultural narrative that's embedded in our building," she said.
"Connecting with Ariana and Kerepeti has been amazing as well.
"They're both very knowledgeable and have really interesting points of view. Ariana was a very recent addition because we've hired Kerepeti to film the whole process of the exhibition and capture a type of story about WHAIAO and so we're like, what about sound? What about Ariana?"
Tūranga Māori Lead Māia Abraham said WHAIAO builds on a growing legacy of Māori-focused exhibitions at the library.
"Tūranga is a place for storytelling and it's a place for finding your identity and connecting with your taonga. That was a responsibility for us to acknowledge that and deliver in that way," Abraham said.
Previous exhibitions have included Kā Huru Manu and Te Ao Hōu, both of which highlighted important aspects of Māori history and storytelling.
"This is just continuing that whakapapa of telling Māori stories at the library," he said.
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Kua whakarewaina e te whare pukapuka o Tūranga tētahi whakaaturanga hōu e whakanui ana i ngā mātauranga Māori me ngā kohinga pukapuka Māori e pupuru nei e te whare pukapuka.
Ko WHAIAO te ingoa o te whakaaturanga nei, ā, nā Ngāpiu Tainui-McClure tēnei i waihanga. Nō tērā Rāmere i tūwhera ai te whakaaturanga, ka mutu, ka tūwhera tēnei ki te marea tae noa ki te marama o Noema.
"To be in this position, to be able to share this with everyone is really valuable," hei tā Tainui-McClure.
E whā ngā wāhanga o te whakaaturanga, arā, ko te maunga, te whenua, te moana me te rangi,.
"We've taken the natural environment around us and figured out how mātauranga Māori and our Māori information in a published form connects to our natural environment because we are people of the land," hei tāna.
Ka timata ake ki te wāhanga o te maunga, nā Tainui-McClure tērā whakatau. Ko tāna, he whakaatu i te anga o te whakaaturanga, ka mutu, ka taea te uru atu mai i ngā tōpito o te whare.
"Maunga, being the one that reflects everyone, felt like a really nice connection so that everyone can come in and feel a connection to the resources and a connection to something that is on one of those shelves."
"The cool thing about these phases is that they all kind of sit within the same space."
Haunga atu i ngā pūranga me ngā kōrero whakaputa, ka hau mai ngā mahi nō ēnei ringatoi o Ngāi Tahu, a Morgan Darlinson rātou ko Kerepeti Paraone ko Ariana Tikao.
E ai ki a Tainui-McClure, mā te whakakōtahi i ngā mahi toi pēnei i te kiriata, te mahi toi me ngā pūoro hoki, i wana ake ngā pakiwaitara e iri ana huri noa i te whakaaturanga.
"When I sent that artist brief to Morgan, I was like, 'Please, please accept it,' because I work in this building and I see her artwork every day, and one of the responsibilities in the role is to share that cultural narrative that's embedded in our building," hei tāna.
"Connecting with Ariana and Kerepeti has been amazing as well.”
"They're both very knowledgeable and have really interesting points of view. Ariana was a very recent addition because we've hired Kerepeti to film the whole process of the exhibition and capture a type of story about WHAIAO and so we're like, what about sound? What about Ariana?"
Hei tā te Kaihautū Māori ki Tūranga, a Maia Abraham, he āpitihanga tēnei ki te whakareretanga o ngā whakaaturanga Māori ki te whare pukapuka.
"Tūranga is a place for storytelling and it's a place for finding your identity and connecting with your taonga. That was a responsibility for us to acknowledge that and deliver in that way," hei tā Abraham.
Ko ētahi o ngā whakaaturanga ō-mua ko Kā Huru Manu me Te Ao Hōu. E hira ake i ngā wāhanga motuhake o ngā hītori me ngā kōrero.
"This is just continuing that whakapapa of telling Māori stories at the library," hei tāna.