Scoop  Culture

Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki appoints Te Arepa Morehu as the inaugural Head of Kaupapa Māori

Te Arepa Morehu (Ngāti Whātua, Ngāpuhi) joins Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki this month (October 2021) in a new senior leadership position as Head of Kaupapa Māori.

p>Te Arepa Morehu (Ngāti Whātua, Ngāpuhi) joins Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki this month (October 2021) in a new senior leadership position as Head of Kaupapa Māori.

As the inaugural Head of Kaupapa Māori, Te Arepa will progress the Gallery’s commitment to support and promote Toi Māori.

An active leader in the community, and having led Te Ao Māori initiatives at senior leadership level for organisations including Westpac, MinterEllisonRuddWatts and Spark, Te Arepa is a passionate advocate in the areas of Te Ao Māori, tikanga Māori and te reo Māori.

‘Throughout my career I have been involved in organisational change and spent many years building bridges between corporate life and Te Ao Māori. Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki provides another opportunity to imbue Te Ao Māori in the thinking and operations of the Gallery. I accepted this leadership role because I believe kaupapa Māori can support and provide rich experiences for all hapori (communities) of Tāmaki,’ says Te Arepa.

Te Arepa joins the Gallery from Westpac where he was a Service Design Chapter Lead. Among his first priorities at the Gallery will be the recruitment of a new Curator, Māori Art who will contribute to exciting new exhibitions, research and acquisitions. ‘I’m looking forward to joining Toi o Tāmaki and creating opportunities to celebrate and support the indigenous art sector. As a proud descendant of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei I continually strive to uphold and whakamana our cultural responsibility to tiaki i ngā tāngata e noho nei i te whatutoto o Te Kawau, to care for people that reside in the Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei heartlands.’ says Te Arepa.

Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki Director, Kirsten Lacy, adds, ‘I’m delighted Te Arepa is joining the Gallery’s leadership team as our first Head of Kaupapa Māori.’

‘Te Arepa brings extensive cultural expertise embedding Te Ao Māori into organisational change initiatives within the commercial sector. He is a committed community leader, and he stands to make a significant contribution to the Gallery’s life and future vision. I’m excited to work with Te Arepa to develop our bi-cultural framework, a critical piece of work to our vision and values.’

‘It is wonderful to have someone of Te Arepa’s calibre join the leadership of Toi o Tāmaki,’ says Helen Te Hira, Auckland Unlimited Director of Māori Outcomes. ‘This position supports the formidable contribution and aspirations of past and present curators and members of Haerewa.’

‘The Head of Kaupapa Māori role comes at a time of deep reflection and continued debate about the legacy and future role of arts institutions in their relationship to Kaupapa Toi Māori. Te Arepa brings an Ahi Kā perspective, which will enrich the organisation and its contemporary identity.’

Te Arepa commences joins the Gallery as Head of Kaupapa Māori on 25 October 2021.

PĀNUI PĀPĀHO

Kua tohua a Te Arepa Morehu e Te Toi o Tāmaki ki te tūranga hou, Head of Kaupapa Māori

Rāapa 6 Whiringa-ā-nuku 2021

Nō tēnei marama tonu (Whiringa-ā-nuku 2021) a Te Arepa Morehu (Ngāti Whātua, Ngāpuhi) kuhu mai ai ki tēnei tūranga matua hou, Head of Kaupapa Māori.

I tēnei tūranga hou, Head of Kaupapa Māori, ka kōkiri a Te Arepa i ngā takohanga a te Toi o Tāmaki ki te tautoko me te whakatairanga i ngā toi Māori.

He kaiārahi i te hāpori, ā, kua oti i a ia te kōkiri kaupapa aro ki te ao Māori i ngā taumata matua o roto mai i ngā pākihi pēnei ki a Westpac, MinterEllisonRuddWatts me Spark. He tino kaitaunaki a Te Arepa i roto i ngā mahi o te ao Māori, tikanga Māori me te reo Māori.

‘I ngā tau, kua whakapā atu au ki ngā whakawhanaketanga i roto i ngā pākihi me te tuitui taura here ki waenga i te ao rangatōpū me te ao Māori. Kua whakatakoto anō te Toi o Tāmaki i tētahi ara e taea ai te kōkuhu i te ao Māori ki roto i te whare toi. I whakaae ahau ki tēnei tūranga matua, nātemea, e whakapono ana au, mā te kaupapa Māori e tautoko, e hua anō ai he wheako nui mō ngā hāpori o Tāmaki.’ Ko tā Te Arepa.

Hono mai a Te Arepa i Westpac, ā, koia te Service Design Chapter Lead. Ko tētahi o āna mahi tuatahi ki te whare toi, he tono mō tētahi Curator, Toi Māori. Ka whai wāhi tēnei ki ngā whakaaturanga hou, te rangahau me ngā rironga.

‘E hīkaka ana au ki te hono atu ki te Toi o Tāmaki me te whakatakoto huarahi ki te whakanui me te tautoko i ngā toi o ngā iwi taketake. I roto i taku Ngāti Whatua Ōrākeitanga, ka ngana au ki te whakamana i ngā tikanga tiaki i ngā tāngata e noho nei i te whatutoto o Te Kawau.’ Ko tā Te Arepa.

Ko Director Toi o Tāmaki, a Kirsten Lacy, ‘E koa ana te ngākau i te kuhu mai o Te Arepa ki te pae ārahi matua hei Head of Kaupapa Māori.’

‘He pukenga nui ō Te Arepa mō te whakatō i Te Ao Māori ki roto i ngā whakawhanaketanga i te ao pākihi. He kaiārahi i roto i te hāpori, ā, ka nui hoki ōna kaha ki te whakapiki i te wairua o te whare toi me tōna aronga whakamua. E hīkaka ana au ki te mahi tahi me Te Arepa, ki te whakarite i tō mātou anga tikanga-rua, mātua hoki ki tō mātou kaupapa me ngā uara.

‘He mea nui te whai tangata pūkenga nui, pēnei ki a Te Arepa, kia hono mai ki te pae matua o te Toi o Tāmaki.’ Ko tā Helen Te Hira, Auckland Unlimited Director of Māori Outcomes. ‘Ka tautoko tēnei tūranga i te nui o ngā mahi kua tutuki me ngā mahi nui o nāianei, mai i ngā kaipupuri me ngā mema o Haerewa.'

Kua ara ake tēnei tūranga, Head of Kaupapa Māori, mai i te wānanga me ngā whakawhitiwhiti mō ngā hua, waihoki te aronga whānui o ngā tari toi me ō rātou hono ki ngā kaupapa toi Māori. Ka kawea mai e Te Arepa ōna tirohanga ahi kā hei whakamana i te Toi o Tāmaki me tōna momo i tēnei ao.

Hei te 25 o Whiringa-ā-nuku 2021 a Te Arepa kuhu mai ai hei Head of Kaupapa Māori mō te whare toi.

© Scoop Media

 

Culture Headlines | Health Headlines | Education Headlines