Wāhine The Woven Women

A touring multi-media exhibition that amplifies Māori women’s voices around Aotearoa is coming to Hihiaua Cultural Centre from Saturday 28 January – Saturday 4 March 2023. The exhibition, called Wāhine, offers our communities the opportunity to be enriched by their life stories while fostering mutual understanding. 

Here in Whangārei, Dr Maia Hetaraka (Ngāti Wai, Ngāi Tahu, Ngā Puhi, Ngāti Paoa) joins the kaupapa and the exhibition’s journey around the North Island. 

“If there was a change that I would hope to make, you know, at the end of my life, I hope that I have had a part in making our children and our grandchildren’s experience of, not just education, but of this society, better.” Maia Hetaraka.

While it travels around Aotearoa, Wāhine expands each time it changes locations by inviting a wahine from a local iwi to join the kaupapa and hold space for the other women. Whangārei is the third of eight North Island centres to exhibit Wāhine. Maia’s story will join 10 other wāhine who shared their stories and toured the South Island, and our first two North Island centres, Hawkes Bay and Hamilton.

By holding a sacred space for women to share their experiences, our hope is to inspire compassion in us all and ignite a wider sense of belonging, community, and togetherness. 

Follow our journey on www.thewovenwomen.org or on social media @thewovenwomen.