Uhengaparaoa Taonga Tuku Iho: Ancestral Gifts and Contemporary Maori Art exhibition launches successfully at UCLA!
So humbled to be able to be a part of the Uhengaparaoa Taonga Tuku Iho: Ancestral Gifts and Contemporary Māori Arts exhibition at the Fowler Museum at UCLA that opened recently.
'Inspired by the legacy of Uhengaparaoa, a renowned Whakatohea weaver who traveled to the East Coast of Aotearoa New Zealand to share her weaving knowledge, Uhengaparaoa, Taonga Tuku Iho brings ancestral and contemporary Māori art into dialogue.'
'At the heart of the exhibition is a treasured kaitaka (cloak) from the Fowler Museum collection, regarded as an ancestor by the Whakatohea community. In response, contemporary Whakatohea artists create works that honour, reinterpret, and extend the knowledge carried through generations ...Together, the works celebrate Whakatohea identity, connection to whenua (land) and whakapapa (genealogy), and the resilience of cultural traditions in the face of colonial suppression. Uhengaparaoa, Taonga Tuku Iho is a testament to weaving-and art more broadly-as a living practice through which ancestral knowledge is remembered, renewed, and carried into the future.'
Co-Curators: Tangimoe Clay and Gina Tawhai Matchitt.
Cultural Advisor: Prof. Maui Hudson
Researcher & Report Writer: Brent Kerehona (Pukepuke-Ahitapu)
Additional information can be accessed on the Fowler Museum website (link below), and the three historical and technical reports I produced can be accessed at the bottom of the page on the same link.
Acknowledgements and thanks
I'd like to acknowledge and thank everyone who contributed toward making this project happen, our exhibition team (Tangimoe Clay, Gina Tawhai Matchitt, Prof. Maui Hudson, and I), the Fowler Museum Director and staff (Silvia Forni, Izzy Kelly-Ramirez, Jeanette Saunders, Syona Puliady, Amy Landau, Rachel Raynor, and Hannah Yoo), and to the Gabrielino Tongva community (Chief Anthony Redblood Morales, Elder Angie Behrns, Elder Michael Whitehorse Aviles, Andrew Guiding Youngcloud Morales, Bob Ramirez, Dr Kimberly Morales Johnson, Herbie Johnson, Samantha MJ Yang, Mona Morales Recalde, Tony Recalde, Ellie Recalde, Samuel Lopez and Lili Florez), the New Zealand Consulate - Los Angeles (Consul General Katja Ackerly, Deputy Consul General Hannah Owenson, and Emma Newton) and finally, to our sponsors (Mary Jane Leland Textile Fund, Martha and Avrum Bluming Exhibition Fund, Dr Carolyn Knobler and Dr Charles Knobler, with special thanks to the New Zealand Consulate - Los Angeles.
Background story
July 2023
In July 2023, my family (my wife and I and three teenage grandchildren) travelled to the USA for a family vacation. Prior to the trip, I contacted staff at the Fowler Museum and requested a list of Māori taonga (cultural objects) in the hope that I would be able to examine some of these with the intent to produce historical and technical reports for the institution itself and to reconnect them to their respective iwi (tribes) and hapu (subtribes) in Aotearoa New Zealand. A stunning kaitaka (finely woven cloak) was identified as originating from the township of Opotiki in the Bay of Plenty, which is one of the iwi to which I affiliate. I, alongside my wife and grandchildren (who were allocated roles such as scribe, photographer and videographer) undertook an initial examination and committed to returning at a later date to undertake a more thorough examination. I contacted Whakatohea weaver, Tangimoe Clay, to notify her of my discovery, and we began planning a visit for July the following year. I also delivered a historical presentation at the New Zealand Consulate Official Residence in Los Angeles, where I requested that a member of the local Native American community attend - this is where the relationship between the Gabrielino Tongva people and our family began.
July 2024
July 2024 saw our Te Whakatohea trio fly into Los Angeles from Sydney in Australia, London in England, and Opotiki in Aotearoa New Zealand, to visit the Fowler Museum and carry out our specific tasks: Myself and Tangimoe Clay to examine the kaitaka, and Prof. Maui Hudson to share his knowledge of Traditional Knowledge (TK) Labels with museum staff. But before that, we were welcomed by the Gabrielino Tongva peoples to their traditional lands of Tovangaar at an event at Kuruvungna Springs. We were honoured to be acknowledged and to assist our kaupapa (project) in 'a good way' by the tangata whenua (people of the land). During our three days at the Fowler Museum, we began building relationships with the staff and in between the three examination sessions, TK presentation, and impromptu weaving lessons, the idea for an exhibition was proposed, and planning would begin.
April 2025
April 2025 saw me and one of my teenage granddaughters travel to the USA as part of her 18th birthday celebrations, and we visited the Fowler Museum to undertake a third and final confirmatory examination of the kaitaka and to attend a planning meeting with Fowler staff. As per tikanga (cultural protocols) we visited the Gabrielino Tongva community so that our actions on Tovaangar were done in a 'good way'.
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