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Otago Daily Times
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Film offers look ‘behind the scenes'
This year's International Film Festival gives New Zealanders the rare opportunity to see behind the scenes at a gallery as it curates a ground-breaking exhibition, in this case Auckland Art Gallery's "Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art". Rebecca Fox talks to TOITŪ: Visual Sovereignty 's director, Oscar nominated producer, award-winning film-maker and art lover Chelsea Winstanley. More than 100 artists, 300 art works, 10 installations — it sounds huge. For art lover and movie producer Chelsea Wistanley, the concept of Auckland Art Gallery's "Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art", to create the largest Māori art exhibition in New Zealand's history, authored by Māori voices, sounded fascinating. "I like to find stories about people that are doing all the good things behind the scenes." Living in Los Angeles at the time the exhibition was being developed by gallery's curator, Māori Art, Nigel Borell (Pirirākau, Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Ranginui, Te Whakatōhea), Wistanley's marriage to Taika Waititi had broken down, Covid had hit America, Black Lives Matter was going on. "LA was kind of crazy. And it was almost like a great catalyst, actually. So I was like, I'm coming home. I'm going to sink my teeth into this." Personally she needed to come back to New Zealand, but it also seemed like the perfect opportunity for her to go back to her love for writing and directing. While she is known for producing — as a producer on Waititi's Academy nominated feature Jojo Rabbit , Wistanley became the first indigenous female Oscar nominee for Best Picture and her critically-acclaimed documentary feature, Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen played at the 2019 Sundance and Berlin film festivals — it is not something she ever wanted to do. "I just fell into that role and you just keep doing one thing after another and someone tells you, you're pretty good at it or they keep offering you work in that space." Along the way Wistanley (Ngāti Ranginui and Ngāi Te Rangi, Pākehā) forgot about her youthful self's wish to be a director. She had started out directing a television art show where she met artists such as Fred Graham, Tama Iti and met Waititi for the first time. "I really believe in timing. And it was the perfect time for me to come home, sink myself into something that was really right. You know, on the kaupapa that I love, art." Working alongside Borell and the gallery's team, Wistanley threw herself into the project deciding to self-fund the documentary to avoid any unnecessary restrictions. "So what little resource I had, me and my producer, we were just like, right, we're going to do this. We'll scrimp and scrape. We'll pull favours. And, you know, half the time I'm getting the camera out myself and I'm not a camera operator. But there's just times you're like, oh, my God, I've got to capture that." She had been told the exhibition was going to be the equivalent to the landmark 1980s "Te Māori" exhibition that toured the United States and then New Zealand's main centres, including Dunedin. "It's got this really neat synergy, I suppose, because "Te Māori" really awakened Māori people to what their culture and a traditional culture that they had. And then when it finished its amazing world conclusion, it actually finished at the Auckland Art Gallery. "And that was another thing that I thought, from an international perspective, was really interesting, too. Like it had all these parallels. So I was like, that's going to be fantastic." But things took a different direction as tensions emerged between Borell and the gallery's director about the imbalance of power in curating. Borrell's vision was that Māori artists should be seen on their own terms, free from colonial frameworks and he pushed to centre Māori voices and stories. He eventually decided to resign just before the show opened. "Alliedship, support and advocacy for indigenous and for Māori in this space is awesome but at the same time it often gets mixed up in authoring the ideas and wanting to have space in that and it is not up for grabs, it is ours to lead and to own. If it is not I don't want to be part of that conversation," Borrell says in the film. "If we can't shape it with this exhibition project which we have waited 20 years to do, when can we?" Like any film-maker, Wistanley had to adapt and follow the story although this was not easy at times. "I'm merely just to be there to capture and respond as an artist myself, as a storyteller. Because people talk about a story being made three times, from the paper, then while you're shooting, and then again in the edit suite. When you get to that third part, you've got to now pull all the pieces together. And whatever you thought might have been the actual story is not any more." She did not want that dispute to overshadow the film though. "I think the overall outcome of the film is, what I really want anyway is, there's nothing to be afraid of, of sharing power. Even if power is the right word. It's just living in harmony together and in true partnership. "Everyone in the gallery, Māori, Pākehā, it doesn't matter who they were, everyone was so invested in the success of that show. Because they're all working there because they love art. So they just want the best thing for the show and for the public to experience." So she also concentrated on was showing the work that went on behind the scenes. Wistanley, whose home's walls are covered in art, got to meet and watch work some of the country's top contemporary Māori artists. "I've always loved art and photography. And it's always kind of been my, I suppose, passion. But this time around, being able to spend time with and see the likes of Shane Cotton or Emily Karaka and their spaces of work. That was the great thing I wanted to show." Selecting those to follow on their journey for the documentary was difficult but working closely with Borrell and the team, she selected a variety of artists doing different projects who also had strong stories. "The artists were so generous." Getting to see the work of the Mataaho Collective (Erena Baker, Sarah Hudson, Bridget Reweti and Terri Te Tau) as it was being made in collaboration with Maureen Lander was special, especially as afterwards the collective went on to win the Golden Lion Award at the Vience Biennale, one of art's highest accolades . The documentary follows their journey at Venice. "My gosh, that was just, like, ultimate, you know. But they're amazing. They're just wonderful." These experiences gave her a new appreciation for artists. "Artists are just the most incredible people. They truly are." Being able to watch and film Ngahina Hohia installing her Paopao Ki tua o Rangi (2009) mixed-media installation using poi, light and sound, drawing on her own whakapapa and the story of Parihaka, over a few days was "mind blowing". It is a piece that has been shown around the world. "It's so beautiful. Again as a viewer you go in and you don't know how many days she spent putting it all together." Then she got to be in Australia when Reuben Paterson saw the glass waka he had designed in real life for the first time. Due to Covid he had supervised its construction via the internet. "It was great to capture him there. I would have been freaking out if that was my piece and it's so incredible when you see it going." But it also gave her a new appreciation for what galleries and their staff do to make exhibitions come to life for the public from driving across the country to pick up valuable and fragile works to conserving pieces so they can can continue to be seen for years to come. "I didn't realise how many people even worked at the gallery, or what all their roles were. Everyone from the registration team, were just such lovely people who take such incredible care, meticulous care. There is just so much that goes on behind the scenes." Sad that the show came down in 2021 six months after opening and that it did not go on to travel internationally, Wistanley took time to decide whether or not to finish the documentary. "I really just didn't want to put out a piece that, oh, the show opened. And yet again, it smashed all the records for visitors and things like that. It did all those things. But it didn't do some other really fundamental things, which sat with me for some time." Two years ago she began working on the piece again, trawling through the hundreds of hours of material to piece together the final story. "I think for them, it's a great archive. I just really wanted to kind of celebrate really what goes on. And it probably turned into something slightly different in the end." TO SEE TOITŪ: Visual Sovereignty , Rialto Cinema, Dunedin, August 24, 3.45pm. Q and A by director Chelsea Winstanley.
NZ Herald
07-07-2025
- Sport
- NZ Herald
Tauranga boxer Cherneka Johnson to fight for undisputed title at Madison Square Garden
Champion Tauranga -born boxer Cherneka Johnson is set to make history on a world stage, live on Netflix. The World Boxing Association (WBA) World Bantamweight Champion, of Ngāti Ranginui, is the second Māori boxer to be scheduled for an undisputed world title fight. On July 27, Kiwi
Scoop
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scoop
Ngā Tohu Toi 2025 Recipients Announced – Join Us To Celebrate Māori Excellence In The Arts
Tauranga, Aotearoa – Ngā Tohu Toi is proud to announce the 2025 recipients of its prestigious awards celebrating excellence and leadership in ngā Toi Māori (Māori arts). These awards honour artists, knowledge holders, and innovators whose mahi enriches our communities and strengthens the future of Māori creative expression. This year's recipients will join a distinguished cohort of past award winners, including Ria Hall, Stan Walker, Mabel Wharekawa-Burt, Darcy Nicholas, Joanna Paul, Whirimako Black, Joe Harawira and others. This year, we celebrate the following outstanding recipients: Wi Taepa (Ngāi te Rangi, Te Arawa, Ngāti Whakaue) Tuakoi Ohia (Ngāti Hine, Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Pūkenga, Ngāti Ranginui, Te Āti Awa, Te Arawa, Tainui) Justine Murray (Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Ranginui Ngai Tamarāwaho, Ngai Tukairangi, Ngāti Tapu, Ngāti Kahu) Regan Balzer (Ngāti Ranginui,Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Pūkenga, Raukawa, Te Arawa, Apakura) Peter Harawira (Ngāti Awa, Ngai Te Rangi) Sarah Tangitu ( Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāi Te Rangi, Pirirakau, Ngā Tamawhariua) Mauria (Tracey) Ngatoko Rahipere (Ngai te Rangi, Ngati Ranginui) Chloe Reweti (Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāi te Rangi, Ngāi te Ahi) Te Karehana Toi aka TEEKS (Ngāpuhi, Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Ranginui) Julie Paama-Pengelly (Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāi Tūwhiwhia, Ngāi Tauaiti and Ngāti Tapu) Whare Thompson (Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, Ngā Puhi) Ngā Tohu Toi invites everyone to join us in honouring these incredible individuals at our 2025 Awards Celebration: Thursday 19th June 2025 The Cargo Shed, Tauranga Moana From 5:00pm onwards Enjoy a powerful evening of celebration, live performance, storytelling, and the collective recognition of Māori creative excellence. Tickets are available now at: Tables of six are also available to purchase for you and your roopu. This is a night not to be missed — a moment to stand in support of our artists and the cultural legacy they continue to shape for generations to come.
RNZ News
15-05-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Parliament passes Ngā Hapū o Ngāti Ranginui Claims Settlement Bill
Members of Ngāti Ranginui outside Parliament after their settlement bill passes its second and third readings. Photo: Pokere Paewai The Government has apologised to Tauranga iwi Ngāti Ranginui for inflicting confiscation and a scorched earth campaign that left the iwi without sufficient land to sustain themselves. The Ngā Hapū o Ngāti Ranginui Claims Settlement Bill passed its second and third readings in Parliament on Thursday. The Bill included financial and commercial redress of $38 million and the vesting 15 sites of significance with iwi, with two other sites to be jointly managed with other Tauranga iwi. The Crown apologised to the hapū of Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāti Te Wai, Pirirākau, Ngāti Taka, the Wairoa hapū of Ngāti Rangi, Ngāti Pango, Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Hangarau, Ngāi Tamarāwaho, Ngāi Te Ahi and Ngāti Ruahine. Ngā Hapū o Ngāti Ranginui Settlement trust chairperson Te Pio Kawe felt 'absolutely ecstatic' once the Bill passed, but tinged with some sadness. "It's both of those emotions - the ecstasy that we've finally got to this point, the sadness that there are multiple hapū representatives our kuia koroua [elders] who never made it this far to see the day, who gave and contributed so much to the effort." He said this was an intergenerational cause, and the next generation of tamariki (children) and mokopuna (grandchildren) would carry on from the platform set for them. Ngā Hapū o Ngāti Ranginui Settlement trust chairperson Te Pio Kawe. Photo: Pokere Paewai Ngāti Ranginui's historical Treaty of Waitangi claims related to war and raupatu (confiscation) in Tauranga in the 1860s, but the iwi were also heavily affected by Crown purchasing of certain land, the operation and effects of native land laws, and Māori land legislation and public works taking in the 20th century. Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Paul Goldsmith told MPs that, during the New Zealand Wars in Tauranga and the subsequent bush campaign, the Crown inflicted a scorched earth campaign that devastated the hapū of Ngāti Ranginui . "Of course, no amount of settlement can ever fully compensate for the losses suffered, but it does represent a commitment to establish a partnership that begins to restore the Crown relationship with Ngāti Ranginui, and starts a new journey towards reconciliation and prosperity." The campaign, combined with confiscation and the purchase of other Māori land blocks, left Ngāti Ranginui "without sufficient land for their present and future needs", he said. "As we gather here today for this important day, we also look back on the past and recognise that the Crown severely wronged Ngā Hapū o Ngāti Ranginui in the years following the settlement," he said. "The Crown acknowledges its historic breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi, including that it was ultimately responsible for the outbreak of war in Tauranga in 1864, in which Crown troops killed members of the hapū, and wounded others in the battle of Pukehinahina and Te Ranga." Kawe said, while the $38 million figure that iwi will receive in commercial redress sounds nice on paper, it does come with a caveat. "We don't actually get $38 million dollars cash, we give it straight back, because we have to buy the properties, so they talk about 15 properties that are coming to us, ae pai (that's great), but we have to pay $38 million dollars to get the bloody things back." With the right people bringing their skills to the table, he was confident the iwi could make good use of it. Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Ranginui chairperson Charlie Rahiri said legislation wasn't the end. Photo: Pokere Paewai "We can look at what does prosperity look like, what does economic development look like for Ngā Hapū o Ngāti Ranginui, what role does our marae play, what role does our hapū play, but that's part of the vision that we need to create." Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Ranginui chairperson Charlie Rahiri echoed those sentiments, saying the legislation wasn't the end, but just the beginning of a stronger platform for the iwi in Tauranga. "The irony though [is] that legislation brought us here in terms of what was stripped from us and it has to be legislation that brings it back." The iwi felt the effects of the war in Tauranga and the scorched earth campaign all these years later, he said. "The bush campaign, the scorched earth, te weranga is one [battle] that is not well known. Pukehinahina was a battle, Te Ranga was murder, so when we tell those stories, we want to tell it our way, because what we know of our history has been the dominant people's attempts to excuse their actions." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
NZ Herald
15-05-2025
- Politics
- NZ Herald
Decades-long Ngāti Ranginui Treaty of Waitangi claim settled in Parliament
'While no settlement can fully compensate for the Crown's injustices towards Ngāti Ranginui, I sincerely hope this redress package will support Ngāti Ranginui to realise their economic and cultural aspirations for generations to come.' The redress includes an agreed historical account, Crown acknowledgements of its historical breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi and a Crown apology. In 1990, 10 Ngāti Ranginui hapū began presenting their claims, Ngāhapū and Ngāti Ranginui Settlement Trust chairman, Te Pio Kawe, told SunLive. The claimants were Ngāti Te Wai, Pirirākau, Ngāi Te Ahi, Ngāti Taka, Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Hangarau, Ngāti Rangi, Ngāti Ruahine, Ngāi Tamarawaho, Ngāti Pango, along with Ngāti Ranginui, he said. 'It has been a huge journey for the 10 hapū,' Kawe said. These groups represented about 30 individual Treaty claims, but they decided to bring all their hearings together collectively, Kawe said. In 2012, Ngāti Ranginui signed the agreement in principle with the Crown, and it took 13 years for the bill to be settled in Parliament. 'A lot of people have participated in this process, and a lot of people haven't made it through to the end.' Kawe said after this bill was settled, there would still be an outstanding settlement around Tauranga Moana Harbour. That settlement was a piece of legislation that provided a framework for all hapū and iwi to contribute to the wellbeing of the harbour. Around 200 tangata whenua gathered in Wellington to hear Goldsmith read the bill. The reading began at 11am, and the group stayed overnight on the Pipitea Marae before being welcomed into Parliament. Kawe said the change would occur in a tiered approach, with some properties returned to hapū for them to manage. Some properties would be for residential, commercial and cultural redress, Kawe said. As part of the settlement bill, the Crown acknowledged it failed to protect Ngāti Ranginui interests in lands they wished to retain. Purchase of land blocks in Te Puna and Katikati were done in breach of the Te Tiriti o Waitangi, according to the bill. It also acknowledged that a scorched-earth policy was inflicted by the Crown on Ngāti Ranginui during the 1867 Te Weranga (bush campaign). The Ngāti Ranginui Claims Settlement included 15 properties in the Western Bay of Plenty and Tauranga regions, covering a total of about 890.73 hectares. Margaret Jackson Wildlife Management Reserve near Bethlehem would share its name with Te Wharepoti. The name of Jess Road Wildlife Management Reserve was changed to Te Wahapū o Te Hopuni Wildlife Management Reserve. These lands were primarily designated as scenic or recreation reserves under the Reserves Act 1977. Several sites are subject to easements, guiding and hunting permits, plant pest control trials or historic grazing arrangements. Te Hopuni is set aside for use as a cultural centre. The properties reflected a mix of cultural, conservation and recreational purposes. Goldsmith said the settlement acknowledged the Crown's breaches of te Tiriti o Waitangi, 'including its responsibility for war and raupatu in Tauranga in the 1860s, the purchase of Te Puna-Katikati blocks soon after, the operation and impact of the native land laws, and the compulsory acquisition of land under later Māori land legislation that left Ngāti Ranginui without sufficient land for their present and future needs'. 'I want to acknowledge the people of Ngāti Ranginui who have travelled to Parliament today to witness this auspicious occasion and those who watched the passing of this bill online from Tauranga.' Ngāti Ranginui is an iwi based in the Tauranga region with a population of approximately 15,000 people.
