Whirimako Black performs at Aratoi
to mark opening of WAIRARAPA MOANA exhibition

Whirimako Black, one of New Zealand’s most acclaimed and prolific Maori language singers, will perform on Saturday 6 November at Aratoi - Wairarapa Museum of Art & History, on the evening following the morning opening of Wairarapa Moana: He pātaka kai, He pātaka kōrero; Stories about a lake and its people.

Whirimako Black is one of the country’s finest musicians, who has built up a loyal jazz, blues and Maori fan base with her sublime reo Maori and English songs. She was awarded the NZ Order of Merit for her services to Maori music, and other awards include the NZ Music Award in 2001 for the Best Māori Album; the APRA Maioha Award (2004) for songwriting in te reo Māori, and the Te Waka Toi Award (2004).

“We are honored to have a performer of Whirimako’s calibre performing at Aratoi, and her music will make for a wonderful, moving evening in keeping with the exhibition,” says director Marcus Boroughs. He says the exhibition will raise awareness of Lake Wairarapa and its history: “By understanding its past we can better manage its future, and perhaps re-establish and revitalize its mana and wairua.”

WAIRARAPA MOANA explores the rich and sometimes turbulent history of the largest lake and wetland area in the lower North Island through historic photographs, paintings, taonga, and film. It traces is role as a traditional food basket for local Māori, through conflict with the Crown from the 1850s onwards, to its present day status as an internationally significant but threatened wildlife habitat.

A centrepiece of the exhibition will be the 14.4 metre waka taua (war canoe), the largest waka in Te Papa’s collection, which has been restored for the exhibition. Te Heke Rangatira was originally a fishing canoe, and later used to transport people and goods across nearby Lake Onoke.

The performance starts at 7pm. Tickets $20.
Book at Aratoi T: 06 370 0001.

Aratoi acknowledges the generous sponsorship of Wairarapa Moana; Eastern & Central Community Trust; Greater Wellington Regional Council; Kahungunu ki Wairarapa; Masterton Trust Lands Trust; McAuley’s Transport Ltd; Newbolds 100% Electrical, Masterton; and Technology Solutions. WAIRARAPA MOANA is generously supported by Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa; Department of Conservation; Whanganui Regional Museum; National Library of New Zealand;
The Sign Factory; Henley Men’s Shed; Loader Construction Engineering Ltd; Rangitane o Wairarapa; Rigg-Zschokke; Ornament; and The Village Art Shop.

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