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Lecture Series: Māori Art Through the Lens of Te Ao Māori
Wed
19 Aug
-
Wed
26 Aug
2026
We are excited to announce Julie Paama-Pengell's four-part lecture series, Māori Art Through the Lens of Te Ao Māori, on Wednesdays, 5–26 Aug 2026, 5.30–7pm, at Toi Tauranga Art Gallery.
This series explores the vitality of Ngā Toi Māori, using Julie Paama-Pengelly’s book Māori Art and Design (2010) as the foundation for examining the essential legacies of Māori creative practice. Māori art is framed as a dynamic, unbroken – though often shaken – lineage of values that persists through a changing, frequently challenging environment.
In these lectures, we will explore how the artist’s hand ensures that customary practices evolve to embrace new possibilities while remaining a living embodiment of cultural authority – an uncompromising assertion of a core identity that empowers Māori to represent themselves as they see themselves, as Māori.
What to expect:
- Mā te kete, ka puāwai te iwi - Through the weaving, the people flourish
- He moko tangata, he moko nō te whenua - The markings of the people are those of the land
- He toi whakairo, he mana tangata - Where there is artistic excellence, there is human dignity
- He kura kāinga e hokia - A treasured home to return to
Julie Paama-Pengelly – Biography
Julie Paama-Pengelly is a respected Māori artist, writer, educator, tā moko practitioner, and arts leader of Ngāi Te Rangi descent. Over four decades in the visual arts, she has helped shape how Māori art is understood, practised, and taught in Aotearoa.
Location
Toi Tauranga Art Gallery
Event Dates
August 19, 2026
at
5:30 pm
August 26, 2026
at
5:30 pm
Musical Comedy Night Performing musical comedy as The Singing Hobbit, Katrina McGuinness combines a powerhouse voice, relational humour and the sort of brutally honest storytelling that can only come from a woman with enough life experience to know better — and enough optimism to do it anyway. Sex, Marriage and Other Disasters is a mix of Stand Up Comedy, Cabaret and Musical Theatre that combines original songs, comedy, storytelling and one woman's spectacularly imperfect adventures through love, marriage, divorce, dating, parenting and menopause and everything nobody warned us would happen in between.
4 Sep
Meet the Maker - Wine Tasting w/ Rockburn Join us for a special Meet the Maker and Tasting with Rockburn winemaker Malcolm Rees-Francis. From his South Canterbury farming roots to winemaking in Marlborough, Oregon and Central Otago, Malcolm’s journey has taken him through some of the world’s great wine regions. Since 2006, he has been the winemaker behind Rockburn, creating wines that showcase the distinctive character of Central Otago.
9 Sep
Joanne Melbourne and Mike Garner join forces with multi-instrumentalist Robbie Lavën and bassist Grant Willis to celebrate the remarkable women who shaped the Blues. From the raw sounds of the early 1900s to modern classics, The Queens of Blues pays tribute to legendary artists including Memphis Minnie, Bessie Smith, and Big Mama Thornton, whose original recording of Hound Dog became one of Elvis Presley's biggest hits.
21 Aug
Exhibition
Tauranga Society of Artists Invites the Community to Celebrate Original Art in October. The Tauranga Society of Artists Original Art Expo & Jensen Supreme Art Award returns from Thursday 1st October to Sunday 4th October 2026. From seasoned collectors to those searching for their first original artwork - all visitors are welcome to experience one of the Bay of Plenty's largest annual art events. Held at Tauranga Boys' College Gymnasium, the four-day exhibition will feature more than 500 original artworks created by members of the Tauranga Society of Artists, showcasing an exciting mix of painting, drawing, printmaking, mixed media and more.
30 Sep
-
4 Oct
