Paemanu: Awa Toi – Paemanu Collective Artists
Seventy artists, collectives and projects from more than 30 countries feature in the eleventh chapter of the flagship Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) exhibition series, the Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art.
Bringing compelling new art to Brisbane, the Triennial is a gateway to the rapidly evolving artistic expression of Australia, Asia and the Pacific. Alongside artists and makers whose work has not been previously seen in Australia are a raft of new co-curated projects investigating artforms and cultural contexts rarely encountered outside their home localities.
For the first time this Triennial includes creators from Saudi Arabia, Timor-Leste and Uzbekistan, while First Nations, minority and diaspora cultures hold a central place, as do the collective, performative and community-driven modes of artmaking that thrive in the region. Through nuanced approaches to storytelling, materials and technique the exhibition explores themes that resonate across these cultural landscapes, such as how we care for the natural and urban environments, protect and revive cultural heritage, and how histories of migration and labour shape experience today.
Paemanu Ngāi Tahu Contemporary Visual Arts are contributing to the exhibition Paemanu: Awa Toi.
Paemanu whānui have been working on four major collective projects for the triennial with over 50 Paemanu contributing, to exchange and share cultural understanding and expression through Ngāi Tahu visual culture.
“It began with a river. In 2023, 38 artists 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. 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 identity of Paemanu. This approach, rooted in whanaukataka (kinship), manaakitaka (care), and kaitiakitaka (guardianship), is fundamental to who we are.
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 APT11, marks a new direction for our group.” `~ Paemanu Collective Artists.