Barkcloth, Textile and Fibre Arts, hosted by The World Crafts Council, Aotearoa, New Zealand

Online event, hosted on Zoom by Layla Walter from Mahi ā Ringa - Craft New Zealand Aotearoa, and World Crafts Council Auckland, New Zealand. 

Vice President of the World Crafts Council - Asia Pacific Region - South Pacific, Layla Walter, will host the opening broadcast of the fair. The presentation will commence with a welcome by Tuaratini from the New Zealand based Pacifica Arts Centre. Followed by a selection of short films and documentaries from a range of fashion or fibre artists and communities of Aotearoa and the South Pacific. These include the making of Te Otanga: Kiribati Armour (using coconut fibre) between Kiribati and Aotearoa, large scale installations by Mata Aho Collective (their work Atapō with Maureen Lander, won the Walters Prize 2021, New Zealand's largest contemporary art prize). In the presentation you can learn about ‘The Embroidery The Global Tech Giants Don’t Want You To See’ by Lema Shamamba; a Fashion Forward exhibition at Otago Museum and sculptural baskets by Ruth Castle; watch as the Ei Project by Pacifica Mamas adorns the Auckland Town Hall. The Muka Face Mask by Matthew McIntyre Wilson is an artwork crafted in direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic (utilising Māori raranga process, plying muka fibre); discover revived art forms of aute (Māori barkcloth) by Nikau Hindin and hiapo (Niuean barkcloth) by Cora-Allan Wickliffe alongside two international barkcloth presentations from buroBELéN and MEKEKA.

Mahi ā Ringa, Craft New Zealand Aotearoa is an entity set up to promote and connect artists from Aotearoa and the Pacific with the World Craft Council, local and international audiences of craft. This presentation comes to you from the World Craft Council - Asia Pacific Region - South Pacific.

Mahi ā Ringa, Craft New Zealand Aotearoa wishes to thank Jarcinda Stowers Ama and Tuaratini from the Pacifica Arts Centre, Object Space and the individual artists, presenters and communities across all videos. As our name Mahi ā Ringa translates from Māori ‘work by hand’ is what you will see in this presentation, a diverse selection of raranga, weaving, fashion, fibre, basketry, embroidery, textile, aute and hiapo (barkcloth) from Aotearoa in the South Pacific.