Paua Kete by Erenora Puketapu-Hetet
Artist's talk: Keri-Mei Zagrobelna, Grace Hoete and Suzanne Tamaki
With music by Rameka Tamaki and Brooke Wharehinga
Wed 16 Sept, 5 - 7pm, Toi Aro arts centre - Mutunga Ki Te Aro
Free
Join musicians Rameka Tamaki and Brooke Wharehinga to celebrate Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori alongside artists Keri-Mei Zagrobelna and Hinemoana Baker as they discuss their work in The First Exhibition at Te Ara Toi Gallery at Toi Aro.
To Create, To Rest, To Flow
A talk by Keri-Mei Zagrobelna
What might happen if we allowed our creative lives to move according to the rhythms of te taiao?
This talk explores creativity through the interconnected lenses of maramataka, rongoā Māori and mātauranga Māori, considering how these systems can offer ways of understanding ourselves, regulating our energy and finding balance within our creative lives. The maramataka teaches us that not every time is a time for doing. There are times for planting and gathering, times for movement and action, and times for stillness, reflection and release. I am interested in what these cycles can teach us about creativity — particularly in a culture that often asks us to constantly produce, perform and progress.
Through my own practice, I explore making as a way of connecting with whakapapa, whenua, materials and the wider living world. Creativity becomes less about producing an object and more about entering into a relationship: listening, responding, making, resting and beginning again.
The talk asks whether returning to the rhythms of te taiao might offer us another way of understanding creative practice — not as a linear process of production, but as something cyclical, relational and regenerative.
Artists Biographies:
Keri-Mei Zagrobelna is a full-time jeweller and multidisciplinary artist based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand. Alongside her creative practice, she works as a jewellery tutor and arts mentor, supporting the next generation of makers. Her work is deeply rooted in a contemporary Māori worldview, with iwi affiliations to Te Āti Awa and Whānau-ā-Apanui. Drawing on a rich upbringing immersed in museums and the arts, Keri-Mei creates expressive, story-driven pieces that bridge adornment and visual art. While jewellery remains her primary passion, her practice also spans murals, sculpture, carving, photography, and installation.
A graduate of Whitireia with a BaPPa in Visual Arts (2012), she has exhibited and lectured widely in Aotearoa and internationally. Keri-Mei is a proud bearer of the Toi Iho™ mark, which signifies genuine Māori-made art of high quality. Through her mahi, she strives to honour her heritage, connect with community, and uplift future indigenous creatives.
Rameka Tamaki and Brooke Wharehinga, two musicians from Pōneke collaborate to bring you a hākari of Waiata Māori, from reimagined classics such as 'Ko Te Pū' and 'Pōkarekare Ana', into the world of classical with oriori like melody over 'Gymnopédie' and 'Gnosiennes'. The duo weave their backgrounds of Jazz and Classical to push the boundaries of guitar music, an unapologetic exploration of the merging of two worlds, te ao Māori me te ao Pākehā.