Weaving connections

Queenstowners have a rare chance to see a unique collection of kākahu (cloaks) made by internationally-recognised Māori weaver Rokahurihia Ngarimu-Cameron MNZM from next weekend.

‘Te Whare Pora: House of Learning’, curated by Dr Awhina Tamarapa, opens at Remarkables Park’s Te Atamira next Saturday at 11am — running till July 28. It’ll also include handmade taonga puoro (musical instruments) from Ngarimu-Cameron’s collection, and demonstrations by her students from Te Pūkenga.

A lifetime of weaving has seen Ngarimu-Cameron (Te Whānau-ā-Apanui, Te Arawa, Whakatōhea, Ngāti Awa and Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Irish) exhibit widely in Aotearoa, Australia, Canada, Fiji, Samoa and America.

Tamarapa (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Ruanui) was curator Māori at Te Papa and is now a postdoctoral research fellow at Wellington’s Victoria University. She will host a free curator’s talk with Ngarimu-Cameron next Saturday, from 2pm.