Vunilagi Vou is a new venture dedicated to exploring the potential of contemporary Pacific art, artists and audiences through curatorial projects, community engagement and creative events.
As a professional curator and Pacific arts consultant, Ema Tavola has spent 15 years working predominantly in South Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand in the fields of community arts development, arts funding and investment strategy, events, public programming and gallery management.
Vunilagi in Fijian language commonly refers to the horizon, but can be broken down as vu- meaning trunk, as in the trunk of a tree, and -lagi being the abbreviated version of lomalagi, meaning heaven. Ni serves to connect the two, so vunilagi is that which holds up the heavens. Vou means new.
For Ema, the vunilagi is a space of infinite potential, a space of dreaming and transformation; it is a connection between the known and the unknown, the tangible and intangible. As the vision for a new professional platform to work from, Vunilagi Vou reflects the potential of contemporary Pacific art and approaches to connect communities, enabling histories, social narratives and relationships to be revealed and renewed.
Vunilagi Vou consists of a gallery, retail and consultancy space located at Shop 4, 256 Great South Road, Ōtāhuhu, South Auckland. Vunilagi Vou’s exhibition programme runs on a monthly cycle and the retail range is updated regularly with new, accessibly priced creative production by local artists.
Vunilagi Vou
256 Great St Rd, Otahuhu
Opening hours: Wednesday & Thursday 10am-5pm
Friday 10am-6pm, Saturday 11am-4pm
Follow on Facebook & www.vunilagivou.com
WORKSHOPS for Oct-Dec include:
Te Reo Toi Toko – facilitated by Leilani Kake – takes places once a month on a Thursday evening. It is an immersive Māori language environment for speakers and learners of te reo Māori. Join the Facebook event for details: https://www.facebook.com/events/952801398400099/
Vunilagi Vou Crit Club – facilitated by Ema Tavola – is an occasional gathering centralising critical discussion on exhibitions, art and current issues that affect Pacific and Māori creative practitioners. The first Vunilagi Vou Crit Club is happening on Friday 1 November from 6-9pm with FAFSWAG 6, positioning the current exhibition, as the starting point for conversation. Join the Facebook event for details: https://www.facebook.com/events/2279472792175876/
Crochet A Jungle – facilitated by Lissy Cole & Rudi Robinson – is a weekly crochet workshop on Saturday (11am-1pm) throughout November coinciding with the artists’ first joint exhibition, Sweet Jungle of Mine (5-30 November). The workshops are two hours long and welcome anyone interested in learning and practicing crochet skills; each week will be dedicated to a different feature of the artists’ jungle-themed exhibition, and all materials are provided. Join the Facebook event for details: https://www.facebook.com/events/2416242928663636/
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Vunilagi Vou is supported by Māngere Ōtāhuhu Arts (Māngere Ōtāhuhu Local Board) as part of its investment in artists and creative practice from the Māngere-Ōtāhuhu area.
