Led by Hūfanga-He-Ako-Moe-Lotu Prof. ‘Ōkusitino Māhina, join artists Dr Rachael Hall, Pā’utu-’O-Vava’u-Lahi Dr Adriana Māhanga Lear & Dr Sione Faletau for a special walk-through of their exhibition.
KNOWLEDGE HOLDER BIO
HŪFANGA-HE-AKO-MOE-LOTU DR. ‘ŌKUSITINO MĀHINA was born in the Tongan village of Tefisi, on the island of Vava‘u. He is Professor of Tongan Philosophy, Historical Anthropology, and Aesthetics at Vava‘u Academy of Critical Inquiry & Applied Research in Vava‘u, Tonga, and Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa, and is the Professorial Fellow at Lagi-Maama Academy & Consultancy. He has written, published, and performed extensively in his illustrious career spanning several decades, leading the revival of this art form, paving the way for faiva tā fangufangu and tufunga ngaohi fangufangu for generations to come.
ARTIST BIOS
DR RACHAEL HALL is a designer, artist, researcher and lecturer based in Te Whanganui a Tāra. With ancestral ties to Niutoua, Tongatapu and Ta’anea, Vava’u, her work contributes to preserving customary Tongan artforms while opening new pathways for evolution. Designing and handcrafting reproduced and re-imagined instruments, she weaves notions of past, present and future, inviting musicians to explore new possibilities in sound, musical expression, and cultural identity. Rachael holds a PhD in Industrial Design from Massey University.
PĀ'UTU-'O'VAVA'U-LAHI DR ADRIANA MĀHANGA LEAR is a queer Tongan-Australian interdisciplinary artist and researcher working across sound, music, photography, print, video, sculpture and installation. Adriana holds ancestral ties to Tu’anuku, Vava’u and Vaipoa, Niuatoputapu. Central to Adriana’s practice is an embodied ‘re-sounding’ of the archive and visual and sonic application of kupesi as motif, symbolism and language. Adriana has a PhD in Creative Arts from the University of Wollongong.
DR SIONE FALETAU is a multidisciplinary artist and researcher of Tongan descent, based in Ōtara, South Auckland, with ancestral ties to Taunga and Lakepa. Working with sound design, sculptural projection mapping and digital media, he transforms audio frequencies into visual forms, reenergising kupesi (Tongan patterns) as living, dynamic expressions of identity. Sione’s Master's and Doctor of Fine Arts is from the Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland.
TE PAPA BIOS
DR EMELIHTER KIHLENG is a poet, curator, and teacher. She works as Curator Pacific Cultures at Te Papa Tongarewa. Emeli was born on Guam/Guåhan and raised on her father's island of Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia and in Honolulu, Hawai'i.
MAMA KARATIA GRACE HUTTON QSM is from Manihiki, Palmerston atoll, Penrhyn in the Cook Islands, and Anaa in the Tuamotus. She has worked at Te Papa since 2004 as the Mana Tiaki/Kaitiaki Taonga of the Pacific Cultures collections.
PĀTAKA BIO
JACKI LEOTA-MUA is an Aotearoa-born Samoan (Salamumu Upolu, Avao Savai'i) of mixed heritage. She will be facilitating the panel talanoa as Curator Māori Moana at Pātaka, a role she has held for over three years. Jacki previously lived and work in the Pacific for 15 years, collaborating with artists, activists, regional agencies and civil society organizations on many projects, in Fiji and Papua New Guinea.
Proudly supported by the PACIFICA ARTS CENTRE - Mālō ‘aupito!
