Whare Kōrero
Toi Matarau is a kaupapa Māori whare toi.
A traditional and contemporary Māori art gallery.
Led by tikanga Māori values that inform all practices internally and externally, Toi Matarau showcases emerging and celebrated Māori artists.
Toi Matarau supports, uplifts, informs and advances the progress and development of artists whilst extending hospitality and generosity to guests visiting the gallery.
Collaboration and innovation is encouraged and celebrated. Toi Matarau acknowledges and appreciates Māori arts practices that resonate with frameworks that model universal wellbeing of integrity and identity.
Toi Matarau is located within the Māoriland Hub. The gallery has a special focus on Māori artists who whakapapa to, or are descendants of the ART Confederation of Ngāti Raukawa, Te Āti Awa and Ngāti Toa Rangatira. This includes those with a connection to Ōtaki or, who live on the Kāpiti Coast, the greater Wellington region and Manawatū.
We also invite artists from other rohe and Indigenous communities to exhibit their work in the gallery and online store.
Te Tāhū o Toi Matarau
Te Timatanga
Toi Matarau opened in March 2019 at the 6th annual Māoriland Film Festival. The introduction of 20 local Māori artists of Ōtaki was the beginning of a new relationship where traditional and contemporary Māori arts complemented an impressive and dynamic film programme.
The focus was showcasing their uniqueness to a new national and international audience.
Art buyers wanted to see more. This strong interest along with the excitement of the artists to create more works informed Māoriland of a need for a gallery dedicated to authentic Indigenous Māori art. In June 2019 coinciding with Matariki, Toi Matarau officially opened its doors at the Māoriland Hub. Tātai Whetū was the first exhibition.
Pūtake
The purpose of Toi Matarau is primarily based on the Māori worldview and value of Manaakitanga:
To promote and facilitate the transfer of taonga tuku iho through high quality engagement, participation and experiences of toi Māori
To ensure kaupapa are delivered through the application of tikanga tuku iho in everyday practices.
Ko wai mātou
Maakarita and Waimahana are the wāhine duo behind Toi Matarau. A team working in partnership to uphold Ngā Pou o Te Whare o Māoriland.
With combined skills Maa and Waimahana are committed to ensuring the kaupapa of Toi Matarau is nurtured and continues to grow for the next generation of Māori and Indigenous artists.
Maakarita Paku
Kaitiaki Toi (Manager & Project Art Curator)
Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāi Tūhoe, Te Aitanga a Hauiti, Muriwhenua, Lakota Oyate
Te Aniwaniwa Black
Digital Coordinator
Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Ruapani, Tā Imi Moriori
Clara Hakaraia
Kaihāpai Toi
Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Toa, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Awa
Kaitautoko
There are many people and organisations who have generously supported us through good will, with their belief and encouragement to aim for the stars.
The Māoriland whānau collaborates often across teams to support each other with events, projects, tasks and everything else when the call goes out. There’s also a special group of kaumātua from Ōtaki who always attend our exhibition openings and events, who often spoil us with cakes and homemade treats.
Māoriland Hub
The Māoriland Hub is a centre of excellence for Māori Film and Creative Arts. It is a home for the Indigenous, a home for the arts, a home for ideas and conversations – he whare taketake, he whare tapere, he whare kōrero.
Open year-round in Ōtaki Village, the Māoriland Hub is a creative space that provides access to the creative arts including art, film, technology, music, dance, theatre and more.
Here you will find Toi Matarau Art Gallery, M.A.T.C.H – the Māoriland Tech Creative Hub, Toi Matarau Art Gallery and the Māoriland Filmmaker Residency. (A first for New Zealand; the Māoriland Filmmaker Residency hosts national and international Indigenous artists.)
Māoriland is supported by four pou – celebration, inspiration, respect and inclusion. It exists for the social, economic and educational success of its community in Ōtaki through connection to the wider world of Indigenous creativity and innovation.
