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New Zealand, Our Home
The Samson-Godinez family
Filipino/New Zealanders
New Zealand, Our Home
Composed July 2018 – September 2019
For voice and piano/organ or other instrumentation, 1 min 30 sec
‘God Defend New Zealand’ began as a Christian hymn, becoming New Zealand’s second national anthem in 1977. The Samson-Godinez family favour the idea of an anthem as a hymn – an uplifting song of thanksgiving and praise that sings of values and beliefs. The traditional style of this new composition echoes a community-oriented time; an inherently social music that comes to life when sung by a group or a family.
Their new song 'New Zealand, Our Home' is about some of the qualities of Aotearoa New Zealand that form a unique sense of identity and home. Their anthem begins by noting characteristics often identified with New Zealanders: loyalty, friendliness, familiarity, and an easy-going nature. The final two verses pair the beauty of the land with the wild and brutal forces of nature that can unexpectedly shift the earth beneath our feet, stirring a nation into action.
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Life is Good
The Faulalo/Bull family
Samoan/Pākehā/New Zealanders
Life is Good
Composed February – July 2019
For 6-part unaccompanied voice, 3 mins 50 sec
The Faulalo/Bull family anthem sings of the excitement and vitality found in modern family life. Throughout the piece we hear a repeated rhythmic pulse of culture and praise “Malie le olaga, le olaga malie!” (Samoan for “life is good, how good life is!”). Alongside this pulse, a lively family chorus sings of routines, values, hopes and the cultural roots of the family tree. This involves a negotiation of many musical ideas. Unison, harmony and polyphony embody the busyness of young family life, with each family member contributing their own lyrics and ideas to the mix.
While this anthem is specific and important to the Faulalo/Bull family, they sing of themes familiar to many of us. Ideas of gratitude and participation, the sense of belonging that arises from being active community members, the spirit of hard work and practice, and sense of home that is formed through the feeling connected to each other and to family ancestry.
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Hand on My Chest
The Chembo Family
Zambian/New Zealanders
Hand on My Chest
Composed July 2018 – September 2019
For spoken voice/s, 4 mins
In this anthem, the Chembo family calls us to consider the histories that our many cultural understandings are built upon, and issues of race, class and gender – what are the costs of belonging? What is it that we feel we belong to? And in acknowledging individual and collective pasts, how might we build a better world? This performance eschews melody and song, letting the lyric/text and voice ring out powerfully on its own.
Take some time to try and speak the Chembos’ anthem aloud.
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Personal, powerful Anthems of Belonging ring out at Christchurch Art Gallery
Get a glimpse into what five New Zealand families with a wide range of cultural and ancestral connections feel about place and belonging in Aotearoa.
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Remember Bill Hammond
Director Blair Jackson and all of us here at Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū invite you to join Bill Hammond’s family and friends at the Gallery on Friday evening to remember Bill and acknowledge his passing. As one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most respected artists, Bill leaves behind a superb legacy – an incredible body of work that will continue to be enjoyed for generations to come.
Come along, raise a glass and help us celebrate the accomplishments of one of Canterbury’s finest.
Friday 5 February, 5–7pm
Bayleys Knight Frank Foyer
Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū
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All Art All Summer at Christchurch Art Gallery
In many ways, we’re all a captive audience this summer, and Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū’s All Art All Summer season will bring local crowds face to face with work from local artists and some of its must-see treasures from 5 December 2020.
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Let Time Unfold at Christchurch Art Gallery this Summer
Take a trip through time this summer with some of Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Whaihetū’s must-see treasures – works of art dating from Greek and Roman antiquity to the present – when As Time Unfolds opens on Saturday 5 December.
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Judy Darragh and Sean Kerr: In Kahoots
Combining artificial intelligence, highbrow concepts, lowbrow humour, dance and retro pop music, In Kahoots is an unforgettable summer experience, unique to each visitor to Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū from Saturday 28 November.
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Pauline Rhodes: Blue Mind
A new exhibition at Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū puts the focus on our natural environment in a very appropriate way – using and reusing familiar materials to create arresting art.
