Artist Profile: Ema Tavola (Prod. No Six), Taste of Pasifika Festival, June 2022
Bookmarks: Ema Tavola, Radio New Zealand, 28 April 2021
Vunilagi Vou and Moana Fresh on their approaches to showcasing Pacific art
Metro Magazine, 25 February 2021
Thought Plantation Podcast #23, 19 October 2020
Vunilagi Vou re-opening in new premises
531pi, Pacific Media Network, 12 October 2020
South Auckland’s New Horizon
The Big Idea, 8 October 2020
Covid closed Ōtāhuhu’s only art gallery, but there’s a novel way to keep it going
Re:News, 24 June 2020
Ema Tavola – Taking her art back home as Vunilagi Vou moves to new horizons
531pi, Pacific Media Network, 13 May 2020
Fat activism in Aotearoa is having a moment
The SpinOff, 26 April 2020
How to stop being afraid of the word ‘fat’
Re:News, 17 February 2020
Thick As: A Glowing Response to FAT
The Pantograph Punch, 16 February 2020
Lissy Cole and Sweet Jungle of Mine
Tonight, TVOne (TVNZ), 15 November 2019
Drawing lines between us all: Julia Mage’au Gray’s Melanesian mark-making
The SpinOff, 12 September 2019
TP+ South Auckland art gallery, Vunilagi Vou
Tagata Pasifika (TP+), 23 July 2019
‘Art belongs to us’: Behind the scenes at Ōtāhuhu’s first-ever art gallery
The SpinOff, 23 June 2019
Earlier this month Vunilagi Vou opened in Ōtāhuhu, the first art gallery the south Auckland suburb has ever had. Its director, curator Ema Tavola, is passionate about centring South Auckland communities and art makers in conversations around contemporary New Zealand art. Read more
The Unmissables: Three Exhibitions to See in June
The Pantograph Punch, 22 June 2019
Ema Tavola (Aotearoa, Fiji) has been a champion of Pacific art in Tāmaki Makaurau for around 15 years. She was instrumental in the founding of Fresh Gallery Ōtara in 2006 and was curator there till 2012. Since at least 2013, she has wanted to start a gallery of her own in Ōtāhuhu. This month saw that dream come to fruition with launch of Vunilagi Vou (the name has various significances, but ‘new horizon’ is not a bad summary). The inaugural show, WWJD:2 (What Would Jim Do?: 2), follows Tavola’s final show at Fresh in paying homage to her mentor, the late Jim Vivieaere (Aotearoa, Kūki ʻĀirani). It includes work by thirteen artists of Moana heritage. Read more
Our People, Our Stories
PMN 531, 18 June 2019
A new art gallery, community and consultancy space has opened in South Auckland’s Otahuhu. Vunilagi Vou is a Pacific space for Pacific art and conversations. Director and curator Ema Tavola joins us in studio #OurPeopleOurStories
Ema Tavola opens a long-needed space for Pacific art
Radio New Zealand, 16 June 2019
A new art gallery in South Auckland is promising to promote contemporary Pacific art, to work closely with its community and to encourage collectors by offering art at affordable prices. Read more
Vunilagi Vou opens in Ōtāhuhu
The Coconet, 11 June 2019
South Auckland’s newest art gallery, community & consultancy space Vunilagi Vouopened in Otahuhu a week and a half ago with a large group exhibition WWJD:2 featuring predominantly local, South Auckland based artists. We talked to Director & Artist-Curator Ema Tavola about the exhibition as well as her hopes & dreams for the gallery. Read more