Te Tārai Rangatira Collective Exhibition & Workshops
Creator: Jay Mason (Ngāti Awa), Ōtāhuhu College Students and Anna Delany.
Artform: Māori Carving
Timeframe: 2025.
Location: Ōtāhuhu College / Māngere Arts Centre
Te Tārai Rangatira Collective is a group of young carvers who have been taught whakairo (Māori carving) under the guidance of Jay Mason (Ngāti Awa) during their time asstudents at Ōtāhuhu College. They have a passion for the art form, traditional and contemporary. As with previous years the Collective has exhibited at Māngere Arts Centre, and in 2025 they will create another exhibtion. MAC has expressed their interest in hosting an annual exhibition for Te Tārai Rangatira as the staff, local board and wider community have been impressed by the calibre of work inn the past two exhibitions held there.
Te Tārai Rangatira seeks to forge leaders through the traditional art form of whakairo, ensuring the continuity and growth of whakairo while developing leadership in the process. Through the practice of whakairo, stories, knowledge and wisdom from te ao Māori is passed on and sustained. The collective also provides a safe space for young Māori and Pasifika to explore their culture through art.
The 2025 exhibition aims to involve between 5-10 young carvers of Māori and Pacific Island descent, and will be curated by Anna Delany and Jay Mason. The idea of starting a Collective was so that the group can expand to take on new members/students who are eager to learn.
The workshops will be open to the public and have this year had a large interest in people wanting to learn whakairo.
