Rugby Fans Snap up Contemporary Maori Art at Huge Exhibition

Rugby Fans Snap up Contemporary Maori Art at Huge Exhibition

Rugby World Cup tourists and locals alike wanting genuine Maori-made items to take home have been buying up large at the MAORI ART MARKet and learning about Maori culture by talking to the artists at the biggest ever exhibition and sale of contemporary Maori art.

Artist and The Poi Room gallery assistant, Zekiah Heath says that there is a total mixture of people buying a wide range of items.

“There are people of all ages, from near and far and they’re buying smaller pounamu and ceramics pieces right through to large original works,
“It’s great fun to see such a wide range of people discovering the different types of art on hand and enjoying so it much,” Zekiah says.

Being staged at the Te Rauparaha Arena and adjoining Pataka Museum, the MAORI ART MARKet is attracting a significant number of tourists to Porirua City ahead of the quarter finals this weekend. Prices for the art range from a couple of hundred dollars through to thousands for large carved works and items by internationally recognised artists.

Creative director Darcy Nicholas said he was pleased with the reports of items sold over the first two days, with some of the galleries and individual artists having to restock their displays.

ABOUT MAORI ART MARKet 2011

The biggest ever showing of contemporary Maori art from more than 200 Maori painters, clay and glass workers, carvers, jewellers, ta moko, musicians, story-tellers and film-makers goes on display at the biennial MAORI ART MARKet at Te Rauparaha Arena in Porirua City from October 6-9.

As part of the REAL New Zealand Festival running alongside the Rugby World Cup, an influx of tens of thousands of international rugby tourists is expected during the event, which will provide an opportunity to showcase Maori culture through contemporary Maori art, and enable visitors to talk to the artists and buy affordable and genuine Maori items to take home as mementos.

Invited artists include Bunmei Okabe from Japan, Dan Namingha from USA, Danny Eastwood from Australia, Grahame Sydney from Otago, Filipe Tohi a New Zealand Tongan, Fatu Feu’u a New Zealand Samoan, and Peter Coates a documentary-maker. Leading contemporary Maori artists Beverly Rhodes, Maria Brockhill, Barry Te Whatu, Norm Heke, Regan Balzer and Tanu Aumua.

Only 20 minutes from downtown Wellington with plenty of parking. Catch the Airport Flyer bus or go by suburban train. Doors open from 9.30am each day. Adults $10. Children U18 and Kaumatua $5. Daily family passes $25. A rare chance to meet and talk to 200 contemporary Maori.

For full list of artists please follow this link Artists
www.maoriartmarket.com
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