Newsletter
Newsletter
Welcome to Artport's newsletter. We intend to bring you information and updates on coming events within the New Zealand art community in addition to writing a little about Kiwiana and also feature artists explaining in greater detail, the medium they use, their techniques and stories behind their work.
We also have our own Maori Artist (Evelyn Kawiti) who is a member of the Artport Team and she will be narrating traditional Maori legends accompanied by one of her paintings. Evelyn has a wealth of Maori Art knowledge and history and we are sure you will find her articles informative and enjoyable.
Evelyn's Page
Evelyn Kawiti has worked for Artport since 1998. She has been a freelance artist since 1980 and recently completed a Bachelor of Visual Arts in 2008. Early commissions have included work for theAuckland Area Health Board, the Public Service Association, Te Ara Poutama and Cot Death Association. Current work includes exhibitions at Papakura Art Gallery, Lopdell House, Takapuna Lakehouse Art Centre, Installation at Whangarei Museum, Manukau Institute of Technology Marae, Northart Art Gallery and Tallin, Estonia.
In an interview with Maraea Rakuraku on Radio New Zealand on June 2009, Evelyn spoke about her ancestor Chief Te Ruki Kawiti and his outstanding leadership during the Northern Wars of 1846. She dedicated a pou (column) to him that illustrates his speech to the people urging them to uphold their mana (sovereignty) despite the fact that the Treaty of Waitangi had been signed recently by many chiefs believing for the betterment of their race. Kawiti was under no illusion that the road to prosperity would be smooth and that the future depended on a unified people sold out for the Maori cause.
'Hinemoa and Tutanekai'
A love story from the Te Arawa Tribe of Rotorua, these two people came from different tribes and their families forbade their romance. Tutanekai lived on Mokoia Island in Lake Rotorua while Hinemoa lived on the mainland. They met when the tribes held important meetings on the mainland, fell in love and yearned to be together. Tutanekai would play music on his flute especially for her. She would hear the sweet tones across the waters of Lake Rotorua and made up her mind to be with her beloved.
Henemoa's brothers pulled their canoes high up on the shore at night so that she could not paddle out to visit the island. So, Hinemoa tied empty gourds around her body to keep her afloat and swam to the island one dark night, guided solely by the music from Tutanekai's flute. On reaching Mokoia, she warmed herself in the hot pools. Because of the secret liaison, Hinemoa had to use her cunning to lure Tutanekai to the pools alone without raising the tribe's alarm. His slave came to fill a calabash with water. Henemoa pretended she was a man and smashed three calabashes before Tutanekai's curiosity roused him to investigate. He was overjoyed to discover it was Hinemoa and so they were finally united. When Hinemoa's father realised how intent she was, he relented and they were eventually married.