There is an opportunity to learn Te Reo Maori under the auspices of Te Wananga o Aotearoa at the wonderful country school at Whakamarama. There are places still available in the first level course which is planned to start in March 2019 and be held every Monday evening 6pm to 9pm.
Although this is a preliminary/first level course it is essential, because it is run by the Wananga, that the formal enrolment process is completed. Enrolment is free – yes it’s unbelievable. This is an opportunity, irrespective of your age or occupation, you do not want to miss out on. If you think this is for you, you’ll need to show up at Whakamarama School this Monday 15th October 6pm. Bring either your NZ passport or your birth certificate and in the meantime: contact Natasha Greatorex the Principal of Whakamarama School NOW at principal@whakamarama.school.nz
Here’s my personal journey to sitting opposite Natasha this afternoon in her office at Whakamarama School, picking up the pen and filling in the enrolment form (first published in our community-supportive Lizard News).
“Almost 70 years ago a slight young woman carrying a baby walked down from the M.V. Empire Star to begin another life in New Zealand. She’d been told that New Zealand did not have toothpaste but more importantly she thought that she was coming to a bilingual country and that she and the baby would learn te reo Maori. But, even though she and her husband would spend some time in the King Country, she never learned Maori but she would recount how humiliated she’d been when in response to “ladies a plate” she’d packed up all her crockery and cutlery to take along to the district hall.
It’s almost 50 years ago that the little baby was invited to join what was then called the University of Auckland Maori Club: even though she was in the kapa haka group and excitedly tied on her first piupiu, she never learned te reo Maori. But, on a crisp spring evening she joins 17 other people in a Whakamarama School classroom to discuss the feasibility of 2019 courses in Te Reo Maori. She’s told a friend she’s only going to look, but while she listens she decides it’s time: time to learn more about the words she loves to hear, the waiata she loves to sing and the language she believes defines her belonging to a unique place.
The next day in the Greerton Library she tells a friend about the course and they immediately want to be part of the class. The posts on the Whakamarama Locals page are just as positive and she knows that in 2019 she will finally take that step she should have taken all those years ago”.
The courses, starting in March 2019, will be taught by Te Wananga o Aotearoa and there is no charge to attend.
There will be one 3 hour lesson a week for 36 weeks and some “homework”. In the first four of eight modules of Level 2 you’ll learn place names and pronunciation, whakapapa, time and numbers and descriptive names for dwellings and buildings. Interested? Email: principal@whakamarama.school.nz
And in the meantime check out: Cultural Ink: Mau Moko
If you live in contemporary New Zealand you will be familiar with the art of tattooing. It is a cultural expression and acknowledgement of identity and status for Maori and Pacifica peoples. Stylised designs are now copied by other locals and can be observed internationally.
Mau Moko, which I found in the non-fiction section of the Greerton Library, has been well read. Its corners are battered and the pages lie flat without effort. I haven’t read “every word” as this is what I would categorise as a significant, well-researched publication which in its earlier pages also includes an explanation of early Pacific migration patterns.
It’s an insight into the history of cultural adornment and the early visual record of Maori-Pakeha contact. It’s also a non-voyeuristic look at a spectrum of contemporary created tattoo. “….it has been a quest to celebrate, understand, demonstrate and record how an art form, centuries old, can flow gracefully into the third millennium…” 
Mau Moko The World of Maori Tattoo Ngahuia Te Awekotuku with Linda Waimarie Nikora, Mohi Rua and Rolinda Karapu New photograph by Becky Nunes Viking Penguin Group (NZ) Rosedale 2007 (Rosemary’s review of Mau Moko has also appeared in the Lizard News).
Rosemary Balu. Rosemary Balu is the founding and current Managing Editor of ARTbop. Rosemary has arts and law degrees from the University of Auckland. She has been a working lawyer and has participated in a wide variety of community activities where information gathering, submission writing, community advocacy and education have been involved. Interested in all forms of the arts since childhood Rosemary is focused on further developing and expanding multi-media ARTbop as the magazine for all the creative arts in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand.
You should also take a look at Rosemary’s most recent article published on ARTbop:
ARTbop promotes
(or we think you should check this out!)
ARTbop is promoting poetry in the Western Bay of Plenty
alchemy
SPOKEN WORD POETRY
Join us every second Thursday of the month,
6.00pm to 8.30pm
Read your own poems or poems by your favourite poet. Enjoy the power of the spoken word!
Phone: 07 571 8722 021 145 5810
One of the beautiful publications of contemporary New Zealand poetry shared on October 11th at the Black Sheep by Marcus Hobson ARTbop’s Literary Editor
Mad Dogs and an Englishman – Nick Eggleston Exhibition – 5 October – 24 October 2018
When: 5 October – 24 October 2018
Where: The Incubator Creative Hub, Historic Village 17th Avenue, Tauranga, New Zealand
Nick Eggleston is fast becoming known as the tattooed dog artist. Exhibiting and selling his exceptionally detailed watercolours from Auckland to Invercargill, Nick is represented in many dealer galleries and has work in private collections throughout the world.
Originally from Yorkshire, England, Nick is currently based in Tauranga after relocating to New Zealand in 2006, and is a resident artist at The Incubator Studios.
Nick graduated from the Chesterfield College of Art and Design with a distinction in Ceramics and holds a membership to The Society of Designer Craftsmen. The skills he has brought with him to New Zealand have been eagerly received by students for his hugely popular beginners to expert drawing, watercolour and ceramic classes.
Alongside a typically busy schedule of commissions and teaching Nick has teamed up with two other Incubator studio residents to open the Imprint Gallery, also located in the Historic Village. You will find him most days sitting at his desk creating his latest pair of bespoke shoes, alongside the gallery’s eclectic mix of original prints, paintings, jewellery and clothing.
This is Nick’s first major solo show in his chosen home-town of Tauranga, and will be a culmination of a year’s worth of new painting and 3D work. (originally published by Creative Bay of Plenty, Tauranga).
ARTbop recommendation: Eggleston’s work is beautifully executed and painterly but his subjects are contemporary, darkly whimsical and thoughtful. When you’ve been to see his solo exhibition at the Incubator make a point of going round to Imprint Gallery – if Nick’s not in attendance at the Incubator he’s often “in charge” of this co-operative venture. Going to republish an image of Nick’s contribution to the recent Steampunk exhibition – again superbly crafted and darkly whimsical!
The care and detailing on this work is amazing
THE AFFORDABLE ART & ARTISAN FAIR AT THE BLACK SHEEP WHAKAMARAMA ON THE LAST SUNDAY OF EVERY MONTH (AND DECEMBER 16TH)
The next Affordable Art & Artisan Fair will be on the last Sunday of October (the 28th). The Fairs are held within the Black Sheep Cafe & Restaurant complex on the last Sunday of every month 11am to 3pm. There is heaps of parking, clean toilets and wonderful food and coffee. There’s live music. There’s an event prize you can win. If you would like to join us as an exhibitor/retailer of your original creativity or artisan products you can contact us at aaafair17@gmail.com1!
We are sign posted along SH2 with signage to the turnoff of SH2 and Plummer’s Point Road. You won’t be able to miss us! We’re indoors over winter months and outside in the Summer
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