Pacific Hands at Our City
The Pacific Hands exhibition at Our City O-Tautahi, on the corner of Worcester Boulevard and Oxford Terrace, highlights the vibrancy of Pacific women’s traditional artistic communities transposed to new locations.
Several of the works featured were made possible by Christchurch City Council Creative Communities funding, which aims to help more local artists and groups promote their works and take a greater part in the city’s arts community.
The show runs until 25 June and introduces the traditional artwork of a number of Maori, Cook Island, Niuean and Tongan women. Pacific Hands is the result of a gathering of various groups of weavers during the Lima Festival 2005 ( Christchurch Pacific Arts Festival). These groups gathered at the festival to demonstrate their art and pay tribute to the late Cath Brown, a distinguished Ngai Tahu master weaver.
Customary practices and traditional materials are embodied in the works — some reflecting traditional Pacific techniques combined with European craft traditions as seen in the Cook Island women’s stunning tivaevae.
Other weaving and needlework pieces speak of the importance of women’s skills in the economic and spiritual life of their communities. The vision of many of the women artists in this exhibition is one of people and place. Often a narrative on nature, these works examine both contemporary issues and the cultural history of the people.
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