When Vunilagi Vou’s first gallery site opened in Ōtāhuhu in 2019, an ambitious programme of monthly exhibitions was delivered until the Covid-19 pandemic forced the closure of the gallery in March 2020. Nine exhibitions were delivered at this original site; they are documented and discussed in Vunilagi Vou’s first publication, VV:Dua.
In October 2020, a new gallery site was launched in the form of Vunilagi Vou 2.0. The first exhibition there, Fofola Koloa – Unfolding my Koloa was a site-specific archival exhibition by sister artists Emily and Vea Mafile’o.
In 2021, a new approach to exhibition making was trialled in two water shows – twin solo exhibitions by Antonio Filipo and David Garcia, thematically connected and delivered simultaneously at public and private locations in Ōtara and Papatoetoe.
The Vunilagi Vou exhibitions programme moved temporarily to The Alexander Cafe in Ōtara in mid-2021 delivering, Put Some Respect on My Name, a storytelling project by Jeremiah Tauamiti, Killer of a Time by Emily Mafile’o and Becoming by Peatree.
In late 2021, the decision was made to stop producing exhibitions and events but like a phoenix, in 2022, Vunilagi Vou will rise again!
Vunilagi Vou x East Tāmaki opens on 17 August 2022 with a survey exhibition of Vunilagi Vou tumultuous life to date shapeshifting from a commercial site in Ōtāhuhu, a residential space in suburban Papatoetoe to a cafe in a refurbished factory in Ōtara.
Check out Instagram for updates, check out opening hours and book and appointment here.