Te Tuhi Mareikura Trust (TMT) announces this year’s annual Toi Kiri 2023 Festival Series 26 September to 5 October, presented by Ngā Uri o Muturangi (ancestors of the great Polynesian explorer Kupe). Toi Kiri is an immersive artist experience hosted by Māori of Tauranga Moana with artists from all around the globe gathering together in Mount Maunganui to celebrate cultural arts.
Toi Kiri 2023 profiles leading tattoo, tā moko, tātau and skin marking artists, alongside cultural artists, ceremony, musicians, and performers for a full ten days of festivities including exhibitions, symposium, wānanga and an extraordinary festival weekend! In 2023 we have significant delegations from Mā’ohi Tahiti Islands, First Nations Canada, Paiwan (Taiwan), Fiji, Tonga, Māori Kūki ‘Āirani (Cook Islands), Niue, First Nations America, Samoa, Philippines and a wide representation of tribal Māori Aotearoa with others still to confirm.
Ngā Uri o Muturangi reaffirms the common bonds of Māori and indigenous peoples, throughout history and the world, traditions that since 2019 Te Tuhi Mareikura Trust has brought exclusively to Tauranga Moana.
Together leading indigenous body markers and cultural tattoo practitioners take the opportunity to reflect, learn, collaborate and strategise for the development of their cultural arts through the strengthening of their ties with each other, as they navigate the future of their arts. The public have the unique opportunity to share in this, as artists, art lovers, tattoo collectors and family through ten days of unique programming of Toi Kiri 2023 hosted at Tauranga Art Gallery POP UP and Kūwao Art Space in Tauranga, and Whareroa Marae and Reserve in Mount Maunganui.
Tā tatau and tā moko hold a deep history throughout the world’s indigenous and first nations peoples, rich in storytelling and connection to their beliefs and practices. Ancestral hands will bring to life ageless ingenuity in ancient and new ways, to strengthen and enrich identity. As well as the largest representation of indigenous skin marking practitioners, Toi Kiri will profile fashion, customary costume, adornment, painting and printmaking, weaving, carving, polynesian performance, contemporary musicians, art exhibitions, cultural foods and three days of symposium presentations and workshops.
Our main events: Toi Kiri 2023 three-day festival 29th September to 1st October and our three-day symposium 2nd October to 4th October are well priced at $10 per day. Follow us on @ngauriomuturangi facebook and instagram to win family tickets – everyone is welcome! This is definitely the must see event for 2023! Key features include;
- Dion Kaszas from Nlaka’pamux (First Nations Canada) who works with Handpoke, Skin Stitch and machine and is reviving Nlaka’pamux Blackwork tattoo.
- A large contingent of Mā’ohi from the Tahiti Islands, renown for their impeccable tattoo skills with machine and customary hand tap and a strong and distinctive design language.
- A large representation of leading Polynesian and indigenous practitioners from around the world profiling their distinctive tattoo, arts, ceremony, costuming, jewellery and performance.
Toi Kiri 2023 is proudly supported by Creative NZ, Tauranga City Council, TECT, Tourism Bay of Plenty, Creative Bay of Plenty, After Art, Ngāi Te Rangi Iwi, Toi Ohomai Te Pukenga, Bachelor of Creative Industries, Art Body Creative Studio, and Globox Digital Billboards.
Immerse yourself in unique experiences and share what indigenous peoples the world over have to offer as they present the essence of their cultural identities at Toi Kiri 2023. Tauranga Moana, hosting the best of indigenous art! For more information visit www.toikiri.nz
