Whakaaturaka
Exhibitions
Taiopeka
Events
E Whakaaturia ana Ināianei
On display
Areta Wilkinson - Ngā Ringa Toi o Tahu
Areta Wilkinson Te Mauri o te Puna 2025. Powdercoated steel. Project commissioned by Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, 2025
Art Bite
Join us in the auditorium for a short film on Ngāi Tahu artist Areta Wilkinson from the Ngā Ringa Toi o Tahu series produced by Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu with funding from Te Māngai Pāho, followed by a viewing of Areta Wilkinson's works currently on display on the forecourt and in He Kapuka Oneone - A Handful of Soil.
Art Bites are 30-minute lunchtime presentations on a single work on display, presented by our staff, guides and guest speakers.
There's a new Art Bite to enjoy each Friday at 12 noon (except during public and school holidays).
Screened with permission from Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu.
Related reading: Free event
Exhibition
Areta Wilkinson: Te Mauri o te Puna
Ongoing
The mauri of this puna bubbles with life, creativity and wellbeing.
Exhibition
He Kapuka Oneone – A Handful of Soil
From 24 August 2024
Exploring the relationship between tākata and whenua – people and land – through Aotearoa New Zealand’s art history.
Collection
Areta Wilkinson Tatau Pounamu
Tatau Pounamu, literally meaning greenstone door, is a metaphor for lasting peace. It is accompanied by a recording of Kāi Tahu kaumātua Riki Te Mairaki Pitama (1950–2018) talking about Waikākahi pā near the settlements of Wairewa and Taumutu on the shores of Te Waihora Lake Ellesmere, and an inter-tribal feud that embroiled Kāi Tahu from Kaikōura in the north to Murihiku Southland. Reflecting on the violent history of loss and dislocation for Māori from Horomaka Banks Peninsula, and on contemporary inter-whānau quarrels, Areta Wilkinson’s response was this object of peace. Her works therefore become taoka tuku iho – touchstones for memory – activated with the kōrero of her tūpuna.
Kāi Tahu ~ tribal group of much of Te Waipounamu South Island
kaumātua ~ elder, person of status
pā ~ fortified village
whānau ~ family, extended family, family group
kōrero ~ narrative, discourse, stories
tūpuna ~ ancestors
He Kapuka Oneone – A Handful of Soil (from August 2024)
Collection
Areta Wilkinson Akaroa Purchase 1856
The delicate beauty of these works by Kāi Tahu artist Areta Wilkinson reveals a complex and difficult history of deceit and loss. This pendant is a map of part of Horomaka Banks Peninsula. Between 1844 and 1864, the government bought 34.5 million acres of land in Te Waipounamu South Island in ten separate purchases, three of which were from Horomaka: Whakaraupō Port Cooper (1849), Koukourarata Port Levy (1849) and Akaroa (1856). In order to convince Kāi Tahu to part with their land, the government’s representatives made threats and bribes promising infrastructure. They also agreed to set aside ten percent of all the land purchased for Kāi Tahu to use and live on. None of these promises were upheld, in breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. The small reserves of land that were put aside are marked by Wilkinson in gold. One of these, Ōpukutahi (Native Māori Reserve 885), is described in the accompanying audio recording of Kāi Tahu kaumātua George Waitai Tikao (1922–2019).
Kāi Tahu ~ tribal group of much of Te Waipounamu South Island
Te Tiriti o Waitangi ~ the Treaty of Waitangi
kaumātua ~ elder, person of status
He Kapuka Oneone – A Handful of Soil (from August 2024)
