19th and 20th June, 5pm- 7pm
Join us at The Arts Village Rotorua on the 19th and 20th of June 2025 for a spectacular outdoor light exhibition inspired by Matariki, the Māori New Year. Te Pō Kitakita: Exhibition of Light invites our community to gather under the stars for two unforgettable evenings of light-based art, and creative celebration.
This vibrant event honours the rising of the Matariki star cluster — a time of reflection, renewal, and connection to whānau, whenua, and wairua. Through a diverse range of light installations, interactive displays, and performances, we will celebrate the beauty of Māori culture and its rich traditions while creating a welcoming, inclusive space for all.
Featuring works by local artists, kura, and community groups, Te Pō Kitakita will transform The Arts Village green into a radiant hub of creativity and cultural exchange. Visitors of all ages can enjoy interactive light sculptures, live music and hands-on workshops, while exploring the deeper significance of Matariki through art and storytelling.
This year, we aim to deliver an accessible, visually stunning, and culturally rich experience that celebrates this years theme Matariki ki te wai.
Free entry, this event is open to all. Bring your whānau, friends, and tamariki — and be part of this luminous celebration of culture, creativity, and community.
Artist Bio
Maia Keane
Maia Keane (Ngāi Tāmanuhiri, Rongowhakaata) is a ringatoi Māori born and raised in West Auckland. Describing herself as a certified haututu, her work spans painting, curation, and ngā mahi ā te Wharepora. Reflecting the endless journey into her Māoritanga.
Legacy Shay Ruhe
Legacy Shay Ruhe, is a creativist and Māori artist standing at the intersections of whakapapa, resistance, and visual storytelling. Her work pushes the boundaries of graffiti art, Māori art, and indigenous expression, carving out space for mana motuhake and tino rangatiratanga in contemporary forms.
Her practice weaves together street art’s raw immediacy with the depth and symbolism of Māori visual language. Every line, mark, and colour is a reclamation. It’s about placing our stories in spaces they were never meant to survive in and watching them thrive.
Legacy Shay honours her tūpuna through form and defiance. Her art challenges colonial constructs of what Māori art should look like and where it should live. It belongs in our streets, on our kakahu, on our marae, within our digital realms, and etched into the bones of the cities that have tried to erase us.
Tino rangatiratanga isn’t just a political slogan to her, it’s a creative principle. It guides her work, her methods, and the way she navigates the world. Through her mahi, she aims to empower the next generation of indigenous artists to take up space, break rules, and assert their sovereignty through their own unique voices.
“I paint because our stories deserve permanence. I create because our people deserve to be seen.”
Randal Leach
Randal Leach is a contemporary Māori visual artist, highly regarded for his ability to record historical concepts through contemporary medium andtransforming them into powerful New Zealand art statements.
Erena Koopu
Erena Koopu was one of the first students to graduate with a degree from EIT Tairāwhiti’s Toihoukura – School of Māori Visual Arts. Since that achievement, she has come full circle and is now responsible for Toihoukura’s Te Toi o Ngā Rangi: Bachelor of Māori Visual Arts degree and Level 4 Foundation Certificate. Koopu is also senior painting lecturer, a role which allows her to investigate art in a framework that encompasses all aspects of Te Ao Māori for students who may have little to no experience of a Māori worldview of art and its related protocols.
Jane Johnson Matua
Jane Johnson-Matua is an artist who specializes in both 2D and 3D art, using a wide variety of media. Recently, she has focused on unconventional practices that incorporate forgotten and discarded objects. Her creative process begins with a thought that evolves into an idea, which she then shapes into a tangible form. Jane finds great joy in hands-on creation, embracing the direct experience of making art with different materials. By blending various disciplines and media, she transforms everyday items into extraordinary works of art. This integration of art and teaching not only enriches her creations but also enhances the experiences she shares with others.
Rotorua Sri Lankan Cultural Society
The Rotorua Sri Lankan Cultural Society is a small but vibrant community group based in Rotorua. We formed this group to promote Sri Lankan culture and traditions within Aotearoa. Through cultural activities and events like this, we aim to share our heritage with the wider community and pass down important values and customs to the younger generation.
Rotokawa Kura
Rotokawa School is a vibrant Year 0–6 kura nestled on the eastern shores of Te Rotorua-nui-a-Kahumatamomoe, beneath the mighty pae maunga Whakapoungākau. The school fosters collaboration and whanaungatanga throughout, with both Auraki (Mainstream) and Rumaki classes. Rotokawa thrives through learning connected to the pūrākau and pakiwaitara of the whenua and its people (Ngāti Uenukukōpako). In the lead up to Matariki, we recognise that it is a time for our tamariki to come together—reflecting, celebrating, and strengthening the bonds that unite them. Through shared experiences, creative expression, and collective learning, our children are reminded that they are each part of something greater.
Renata Curtis
Te Whare Pukenga is an exhibition by Renata, celebrating the strength, beauty, and mana of Wāhine Māori. Known for her empowering portraits, Renata creates bold, vibrant works that reflect wāhine as carriers of ancestral knowledge and contemporary resilience.
The exhibition’s name, Te Whare Pukenga o Rehua Ariki, references a significant star constellation for Te Arawa.
Te kura Pūkenga o Rotorua
Collaborating with our families, whānau, and community in developing our tamariki to their full potential in a caring, safe and supportive environment.
Kei te mahitahi tātou, te whānau raua ko te hapori
Ki te tautokonga tamariki, rangatahi rānei, ki te whai wawata rātau i roto i te taiao o te aroha, o te manaakitanga hoki
The arts Village
Toi Māori Programme
Our aim is to uphold and strengthen the presence of Māori arts within our community, providing a safe and welcoming space to learn, connect, and express creativity. Guided by the spirit of our ancestors, we gather together under the korowai of our tūpuna to protect and nurture the next generation.
He toi whakairo, he mana tangata.
(Where there is artistic excellence, there is human dignity.)
