Māori Futures Exhibition at Sarjeant Gallery Showcases Visionary Art from 15 Contemporary Creatives

A landmark exhibition celebrating contemporary Māori excellence and future-focused visions is currently on display at Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery in Whanganui. Titled 'He Ao Āpopō, He Ao Tea: Māori Futures', the showcase features works from 15 diverse artists across Aotearoa, unified by themes of light and cultural navigation. The exhibition's name, taken from a whakataukī by the late Dr Rangitakuku Metekingi, translates to "Tomorrow is a new day, and the new day will bring clarity." Curated by Cecelia Kumeroa, the exhibition is timed to honour Puanga, the winter star significant to Whanganui iwi. The collection includes a wide range of media, from backlit illuminated paintings by Peata Larkin to a large-scale8-sided sparkling wall sculpture by Maioha Kara. The latter, titled 'Whakatā', references Dr Rose Pere’s Te Wheke model for Māori family health. The exhibition also highlights intergenerational connections, featuring collaborations such as the father-and-daughter artistic bridge between Eugene and Maioha Kara. Among the notable inclusions is a double-channel video work titled 'Taiapa' by the collective Paeheretia, which uses colour pulses responding to the dawn chorus of Tarapuruhi Bushy Park to engage viewers with local conservation efforts. Senior painter John Walsh has contributed the exhibition’s largest piece, a mythic landscape titled 'Act 2, Scene 2 There Are Visitors at the Head'. Other featured artists include Kauri Hawkins, who uses reflective road signs inlaid with kōwhaiwhai designs to evoke the creation story of Te Ao Marama, the world of light. According to the Whanganui Chronicle, 'He Ao Āpopō, He Ao Tea: Māori Futures' serves as an affirmation of a creative present forging a brighter tomorrow. The exhibition remains open to the public at Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery until 25 October.