It began with a river. In 2023, 38 artists from Paemanu Ngāi Tahu Contemporary Visual Arts Collective embarked on a four-day journey. We followed an ancient travel route along the Waitaki awa, the river that has been the lifeblood of our ancestors for generations, culminating at the base of our chiefly mauka – Aoraki Mount Cook. From ocean to mountain, out of this shared experience emerged four creative aho (strands) – Karaka, Ana Whakairo, Tīrewa and Hīkoi – collaboratively developed and presented under the collective identity of Paemanu. This approach, rooted in whanaukataka (kinship), manaakitaka (care) and kaitiakitaka (guardianship), is fundamental to who we are.

As members of the Ngāi Tahu tribe, the artists of Paemanu share whakapapa (genealogical connection) with the mountains, plains and waterways of Te Waipounamu (South Island, Aotearoa New Zealand). The decision to journey off our ancestral whenua (land) for the presentation of Paemanu: Awa Toi, as part of the Asia Pacific Triennial, marks a new direction for our collective.

The opportunity the Waitaki hīkoi (journey) provided to strengthen our relationship to and understanding of the physical and spiritual importance of the Waitaki mirrors our approach to engaging with the context and peoples of the Maiwar (Brisbane river). Paemanu seeks to engage our members, hosts and audiences in deep conversation and exchange as our two rivers ‘meet’. Paemanu Ngāi Tahu Contemporary Visual Arts