Magical Māori Mystery Tour of Wellington

Courtenay Place Lightbox Exhibition

Magical Māori Mystery Tour of Wellington as a textual lightbox project that wove together poetry, pastiche and parody to explore my personal history of Wellington — while critiquing how Māori histories are represented (and often misrepresented) in public space. It was playful and political, grounded in aroha and resistance, and rooted in the streets of Te Aro Pā.

The exhibition turned the everyday landscape of Courtenay Place into a portal — a public space to reimagine, remember, and reclaim. I pulled language from my Messenger inbox, kōrero with cousins, family memories and lived experience — and put those voices back into the street. This was an exhibition on Te Aro Pā, about Te Aro Pā, by descendants of Te Aro Pā. It was a way to say: we’re still here. Laughing, questioning, remembering, imagining.

The work began as a folio for the Māori and Pasifika Creative Writing course convened by Hinemoana Baker and Tina Makereti at the International Institute of Modern Letters at Victoria University of Wellington. That space gave shape to ideas I’d carried — and became the foundation for this public, visual, and poetic offering.

Curated by Tina Makereti, the exhibition also featured poems by Rachel Buchanan and Alice Te Punga Somerville. Together, our voices created a shared act of storytelling and resistance.

Design by Johnson Witehira and Kemi Niko & Co. Photos by Neil Price, Wellington City Council. Supported by Public Art Fund, Wellington City Council.