Auahitūroa

Auahitūroa – A Eulogy to Tobacco

Auahitūroa is a travelling art exhibition that will start on the 1st May and end in early June, 2024 and is a collaboration between Hāpai Te Hauora with lead artists

• Hori Thompson – Te Whanganui a Tara
• Jessy Collins – Ōtautahi
• Shane Hansen – Te Tai Tokerau
• Tai Kerekere – Te Tairāwhiti
• Regan Balzer – Rotorua
• Graham Tipene – Tāmaki Makaurau

Auahitūroa will feature various artworks from local artists and rangatahi. The main objective of the exhibition is to prompt conversations that acknowledge the role tobacco has played in New Zealand’s culture and the impact it has had on whānau, hāpu, iwi and hāpori. Auahitūroa aims to create a space that shares the voices of community through mediums of Art.

The term Auahitūroa refers to comets and is a wordplay on the reclamation of “auahi” (smoke). The comet is also a symbol to the catastrophic damage that would occur if it were to impact the earth. The cyclical nature of comets’ orbits serves as a reminder of the eternal recurrence of events in the universe, and our farewell to tobacco culture in Aotearoa is a recognition of this.

We hope that through this platform we can increase awareness about a Smokefree Aotearoa and encourage discussions about the impact of smoking in New Zealand. Auahitūroa seeks to say goodbye to the deeply ingrained smoking culture in our country and acknowledges the harm tobacco has caused to communities. Auahitūroa is in support of World Smokefree May.