Magical Māori Mystery Tour of Wellington
Magical Māori Mystery Tour of Wellington - Lightbox Exhibition
The Magical Māori Mystery Tour of Wellington was my first public art installation, exhibited in the Courtenay Place Lightboxes at Te Aro Pā from April to August 2017. Many walk these streets without realising they’re at Te Aro Pā. The exhibition centred family stories, everyday kōrero, and the living voices of descendants of Te Aro Pā.
Curated by Tina Makereti, the exhibition brought the intimacy of Messenger chats, cousin catch-ups, and lived experience into the public eye — reclaiming the street as a space for memory and connection. I wrote or curated the text for 14 of the 16 lightboxes. Two lightboxes featured poems by Rachel Buchanan (Road Code) and Alice Te Punga Somerville (Scale), whose words added strength and richness to the kaupapa.
This was an exhibition at Te Aro Pā, about Te Aro Pā, by descendants of Te Aro Pā. It began as a folio for the Māori and Pasifika Creative Writing course at the IIML, curated by Hinemoana Baker and Tina Makereti, and grew into a public act of aroha, resistance, and reassertion: we’re still here — laughing, remembering, imagining — in the heart of the city built over Te Aro Pā.
Design by Johnson Witehira and Kemi Niko & Co.
Photos (unless indicated) by Neil Price, Wellington City Council.
Supported by the Public Art Fund, Wellington City Council.