Autumn Discoveries at Te Manawa

The vibrant colours of Autumn usher in Te Manawa Museum’s new season of exhibitions and programmes leading into the cooler months. Bringing together natural materials alongside painting, sculpture, printmaking, ceramics and weaving, We come from the Earth explores our  relationship with the environment with works from the Te Manawa collection. 24 February – 18 August.

Artist and teacher Pip Steel has gathered a significant collection of old Japanese rural everyday workwear and household textiles, known today as boro. The boro textiles and garments show many years of wear and have passed through generations of Japanese hands. Boro pieces were once cherished, preserved or recycled at a time in history when textiles were precious commodities. Despite limited means, Japanese  rural women created some captivating works of art with their stitches and make-do repairs. Today, mindful of its origins, we can admire and  appreciate boro, while considering its relevance with a fresh 21st century perspective. Boro runs from 9 March – 7 July.

Over two decades, Te Kawa’s distinctive quilting style has explored mātauranga Māori and his whakapapa through bold colour and a tactile  application of materials. Breaking the rules of traditional quilt construction, many types of fabric are masterfully stitched together to illustrate scenes from his imagination, his history and the stories of the people influential to his life.

Te Whare Pora: a sacred space illustrates critical ideas within te ao Māori (the Māori world) through Te Kawa’s unique energy and aroha  (love) and the utterly democratic way in which he approaches creating. He offers these works in celebration of Indigenous ways of being,  seeing and doing, and in particular to acknowledge the strength and resilience of Sámi makers across Sápmi. Ron Te Kawa: Te Whare Pora,  30 March – 21 July

Te Manawa is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 5pm. Plan your visit online at www.temanawa.co.nz