1 - 2pm
Saturday 11 April
Gallery
Free
Mitchell Manuel and Te Awanui Reeder (L-R)
Join Mitchell Manuel as he discusses with Te Awanui Reeder, the works in his exhibition Tartan Meets Koru. Mitchell will discuss the themes of design, pattern and digitisation and how this relates to both Scottish Tartan and the koru design found in Te Ao Māori. Te Awanui will talk about how AI will impact art in the future , including music applications, analysis and in some simple steps, how to avoid IP issues.
Artists Biographies
Mitchell Manuel was born in Aotearoa with Native heritage, “I channel Cook Island Māori artistry into the digital realm. This art tradition merges style and function, a principle I carry forward by giving form to our cultural beliefs across time. Where my ancestors used fibre, wood, and stone, I now weave with digital patterns, creating a lasting acknowledgement to those who came before me and to the divine.”
Te Awanui Reeder (also known as Awa) is an APRA Silver Scroll and APRA Maioha award-winning songwriter and former frontman of Polynesian supergroup Nesian Mystik. He's written for artists including Dane Rumble and Ria Hall, and enjoyed success as a solo artist in Japan and Hawaiʻi.
As Pae Ārahi of the social marketing agency Hemisphere + Big River Creative, Te Awanui is an expert strategic storyteller working at the intersection of mātauranga Māori, marketing, and technology. He holds Master's degrees in both Business and User Experience Design, cofounding Koha (www.koha.kiwi), a digital platform reimagining Māori tikanga of Tākoha and leads creative direction for fashion label Awa Hawaiki.
His mission is simple - high quality, at speed, with aroha.
Tartan Meets Koru
By Mitchell Manuel
21 March - 17 April
By fusing the visual vocabularies of tartan and koru, Mitchell creates contemporary artifacts that celebrate the unique, composite identities forged from historical encounter. These works serve as a lens on generational change, connecting our past struggles to present strength and future possibility.