Hihiaua Cultural Centre – Enrich your cultural experience

The Hihiaua Cultural Centre offers the Whangarei community, as well as those from further afield, a space to be part of authentic and inclusive cultural exchange. It is a place for everyone to explore their past and their potential, whilst surrounded by creative expression and inspiration. We warmly invite you to enrich your cultural experience of Northland with a trip to Hihiaua, where you can expect a warm Whangarei welcome.

This past month we farewelled the Me Anga Whakamua photographic exhibition and welcomed a stunning visual tapestry of grief in the form of Theresa Reihana’s exhibition, FRAGMENTS. The eleven original works speak to grief as a human reaction to loss. Reihana explains, “It is an emotional and physical experience that will be shared with every human on the planet. Yearning, longing, sadness and sorrow, pain and emptiness. My healing starts with returning to my roots, my roots being Papatuanku. I have returned here to heal. To repair the broken me. In my own time. I relate my wairua to the walls of a whare (house) and with each artwork I paint it is similar to the relashing and repair of the whare”. The show which is free to view, will be on display until 30 April 2022.

Theresa’s exhibition has been accompanied by a small refresh to the general gallery and shop which continues to host authentic Māori art and unique creations from nationally renowned local artists. 

For the month of April, we are looking forward to hosting Carla Ruka’s Touring Potter Programme featuring a series of ceramics workshops for beginners. Ruka is one of Aotearoa’s leading ceramic artists, known for her large-scale hand-built forms made using a unique coiling technique that she has developed during her 22-year practice. If you don’t want to miss this unique opportunity to receive hands-on instruction from Carla Ruka please register via the Ceramics NZ website.

We are also anticipating the revival of Rongoā Incorporated Meditation Sessions run by Dyvine Rongoā. These sessions are part of the fundraising efforts of young local thespian Darius Martin-Baker who will be heading across the globe to fulfil his scholarship placement at Shakespeare Globe Centre New Zealand Young Shakespeare Company. Get in contact if you would like to register.