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November 25, 2021
Māori take centre stage for Auckland Arts Festival
Waatea Team
Posted On November 25, 2021
Download AudioMāori acts will be highlighted in next year’s Auckland Arts Festival.
Māori co-ordinator Ataahua Papa says rather than being tacked on to the side, the Māori stream has been incorporated into the main programme.
It includes a soul concert headlined by Whirimako Black, a new contemporary dance and physical theatre work Waiwhakaata, and the multimedia taonga pūoro experience Ihirangaranga.
The festival opens on March 10 with Tātou, Tātou e! in Aotea Square led by Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei.
“People can come along and sing along to the songs they grew up with – Pōkarekare Ana and Tūtira Mai Ngā Iwi – but this year we’ve added, with the permission of the artists, Six60’s Pēpeha, so people can see the words on the digital stage in the square and sing along with MC Pere Wihongi and musician Maaka Pohatu from the Modern Māori Quartet,” Ms Papa says.
The festival will wrap up on March 27 with Te Kai a te Rangatira, a day long salute to the indigenous language of Aoteroa with te reo workshops for students at beginner and intermediate levels, music, a Māori arts and crafts market, Māori kai, and a panel of Māori leaders talking about the arts and language.
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