Museums of Auckland Collaborate on Pasifika Vibes @ MOTAT
The Museums of Auckland, namely Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, Auckland War Memorial Museum, MOTAT and the Maritime
Museum, are joining forces to support the Pasifika Festival in Western Springs with Pasifika Vibes @ MOTAT.
The museums will be celebrating Pacific culture, rhythms and flavours at MOTAT’s Great North Road site on Saturday 24
(9am to 5pm) and Sunday 25 March (10am to 4pm).
The team from Auckland Museum will be helping visitors to build, test and race their own mini wakas. They’ll be
demonstrating how explorers migrated across the Pacific in the days before GPS.
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki will be running screen-printing workshops led by teaching artist Lindsay Gaono that
give everyone the chance to explore their creativity and investigate natural flora in pattern making. The Gallery will
also be unpacking an ‘art suitcase’ featuring the work of Ani O’Neill, a New Zealand artist of Cook Island and Irish
descent and using story discovery sessions to explore her artistic practice.
The Maritime Museum will be encouraging people to share stories of where they and their whanau arrived from, on mini
wakas to be lashed together on a big net. They’ll also be teaching traditional lashing techniques, have a display of
some of the Pacific canoes from their collection with touchable materials used in Pacific canoe building, and a pōhaku
stone connecting us to the voyagers in Hawaii.
In ‘Te Waka Huia’ at Pasifika Vibes, MOTAT will be showcasing the story of New Zealand’s majestic Solent Flying Boats
which traversed the Coral Route. The beauty of the Pacific is highlighted in MOTAT’s pictorial collection, with images
from Samoa, Tahiti, Fiji and other islands. Children can spend their time happily hunting for mythical world creatures
in the Curious Critters augmented reality experience while the whole family relaxes and enjoys the music and dancing.
There will be performances by the Samoan Siva group and SaintZ Up Performing Arts Centre.
MOTAT Chief Executive, Michael Frawley says that the museums have been working on several collaborative projects
designed to highlight what they have to offer to Auckland’s residents and visitors. “Our first initiative was to launch
a combined ‘Museums of Auckland’ website and Pasifika Vibes @ MOTAT is the first of a number of joint arts, cultural and
heritage events we will be collectively involved with during the year.”
MOTAT will also be the place to savour the tastes of culturally inspired dishes; Vegan Cuisine NZ and Napoli Central
will be onsite serving mouth-watering treats and pizza with a Pasifika twist, the popular Māori food truck Pūhā & Pākehā will be here too and for dessert, nothing beats a Tip Top ice cream.
This is a day out not to be missed! Grab your picnic blanket, friends and family, and come on down to celebrate Pacific
culture at this smoke and alcohol-free event. The rest of MOTAT will be closed during the Pasifika Festival but entry to
Pasifika Vibes @ MOTAT is free.
ENDS