MAORI ART MARKet

The MAORI ART MARKet, held in Porirua City in the Wellington region, is New Zealand's largest collection and sale of contemporary Māori art, with a wide representation of art forms including carving, sculpture, glass, painting, weaving, pounamu and jewellery.

The MAORI ART MARKet is where Māori art meets the world — in New Zealand. Over the past few years this event has grown into the country's largest collection and sale of contemporary Māori art.

A 25-minute drive from central Wellington, the MAORI ART MARKet is a showcase of the very best of the contemporary Māori art movement, an event for art collectors as well as international and national tourists who want to talk to and buy work from more than 200 established and emerging contemporary Māori artists, many of whom will be on site demonstrating their work and talking about the meaning or inspiration behind it. This is also an event for those wanting to experience the unique beauty and depth of Māori art, absorb the creative energy of the artists and understand why the contemporary Māori art movement is being watched with such interest throughout Asia, the Pacific Rim and Europe.

In addition to the extensive range of high-quality contemporary art for viewing and sale, a new feature for 2011 will be a focus on the art of the haka, the traditional Māori demonstration of defiance and strength that precedes the All Blacks' games. Porirua City is the home of the Ngāti Toa Chief, Te Rauparaha, who composed the original haka that was adopted by the All Blacks, and over the four days of the MAORI ART MARKet there will be performances of haka by various groups, with an emphasis on contemporary compositions.

On hand to tempt your senses of taste and smell is internationally-acclaimed chef Rex Morgan (currently with Boulcott Street Bistro in Wellington) will lead a team of Māori chefs in presenting displays and tastings using traditional Māori ingredients, matched with wines from Māori-owned vineyards.

The MAORI ART MARKet grew from the Māori Art Meets America exhibition in San Francisco in 2005. That exhibition has since become iconic — with the sailing of a Māori war canoe under the Golden Gate Bridge and the dawn ceremony launch of Māori art at the Yerba Buena Arts Centre.

At the time, Americans asked where they could purchase the art in New Zealand and that gave rise to the MAORI ART MARKet, first held in Wellington City and then in Porirua City. The 2011 MAORI ART MARKet is hosted in partnership with Toi Māori Aotearoa at Pataka Museum  and the Te Rauparaha Arena.

Toi Māori Aotearoa promotes the uniqueness, quality and cultural expression of Māori art. Believing that "Māori art is inseparable from Māori culture - it is like a living organism that exists in the spirit of our people and drives them toward wider horizons and greater achievement", the organisation produces a wide range of events and activities annually including festivals, exhibitions, performances, publications and workshops relating to a wide spectrum of Māori artforms.

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