Otahuhu

#FATFEB – A season of radical fat positivity!

February is dedicated to FAT at Vunilagi Vou! We’re unpacking the word, the stigma, celebrating fat body experience and calling out fat phobia in all its forms! We’re hosting a massive programme around our first exhibition for 2020 entitled, FAT, including a new series of body positivity workshops supported by Auckland’s Creative Communities Scheme, and producing an exciting signature event with local artist and fat activist, Lissy Cole, in the form of the Fat Babe Pool Party!

Get amongst Vunilagi Vou’s season of radical fat positivity!

❤ Exhibition

FAT curated by Ema Tavola

Featuring Louisa Afoa, Riki Tipu Anderson, Lissy Cole, Jessicoco Hansell, Infamy Apparel, Meagan Kerr and Elyssia Wilson-Heti
Opening Night: 6 – 8pm, Tuesday 4 February
Exhibition Dates: 5 – 29 February 2020

❤ Workshops

Writing the Fat Experience

Free, registration recommended
Facilitated by Elyssia Wilson-Heti
6 – 8pm, Saturday 8 February
Vunilagi Vou Arcade

Drawing the Fat Body

Free, registration essential
Facilitated by Leilani Kake
6 – 8pm, Saturday 22 February
Vunilagi Vou Studio

❤ Contact hello@vunilagivou.com to register for workshops

❤ Party

FAT BABE POOL PARTY

Tickets (Presales only) $50
3 – 8pm, Saturday 15 February
Including panel discussion featuring:
❤ Meagan Kerr aka This is Meagan Kerr
❤ Jessicoco Hansell aka Kuini Qontrol aka COCO SOLID
❤ Dr Cat Pausé aka Friend of Marilyn
Mount Richmond Hotel, 676 Mt Wellington Highway, Ōtāhuhu

❤ Contact fatbabepoolparty@gmail.com for ticketing information
❤ Proudly supported by Auckland Council as part of the Pacific Arts Programme

❤ Dialogue

#RealTalk: Fat Reflections Talanoa

Free, all welcome
Facilitated by Lissy Cole & Ema Tavola
4 – 6pm, Saturday 29 February
Lissy Cole Designs HQ, 168 Avenue Road East, Ōtāhuhu

Keep up to date on Vunilagi Vou events and activities across social media!

#FATFEB has received support from

Enquiries

Events, Exhibitions, Workshops

2019 – Gratitude + Big Plans!

What a year!

As we approach the end of 2019, our team has been reflecting, strategising and planning for an even bigger and superbly ambitious 2020!

Having opened in May 2019, we are proud to have:

Produced 7 independent exhibitions featuring new and recent work by over 30 artists
Sold an average of one third of every exhibition
Delivered 3 awesome dialogue events in the form of the Southside Talanoa Series at 3 different Ōtāhuhu locations
Spoken about Vunilagi Vou at conferences, festivals and symposia in Singapore, Australia and Hong Kong
Secured funding for programming from Creative New Zealand, The Arts Foundation, Auckland Council’s Pacific Arts programme, Māngere Ōtāhuhu Arts (Māngere Ōtāhuhu Local Board) and the Creative Communities Scheme.
Delivered 11 workshops in the new Vunilagi Vou Studio with 18 more planned for the first half of 2020
Enjoyed coverage and reviews from mainstream and Pacific media platforms, which can be found on our Media page
Collaborated and invested in local and Pacific businesses to deliver events, including Malosi Pictures Ltd, 37Hz Ltd, SAY Money Transfer, FranCharLeni Diner & Café, Kingdom Design, Star Hotel, Ōtāhuhu Rovers Rugby League Club, Ōtāhuhu Māngere Youth Group (OMYG) and CMYK Signs & Digital Printing Ltd, East Tamaki
And put literally thousands of dollars in the pockets of Māori and Pacific makers through the Vunilagi Vou shop!

We are incredibly grateful for the support we’ve received in 2019; every share, like, retweet, every visit and every endorsement we’ve received has helped us deliver a bumper programme and invested significantly in our local creative ecology.

Our exhibitions and workshops programme has been enriched by the vision and support from Māngere Ōtāhuhu Arts, the arm of Māngere Ōtāhuhu Local Board (Auckland Council) that invests in the arts ecology of our local area. We’re grateful that our Local Board has put a value on the creative potential of our communities, and excited to continue this work into 2020.

Our current exhibition, Finding Emory: A Poster Show runs until 25 January and features limited edition posters by Cypris Afakasi, Tanu Gago, Leilani Kake, Sean Kerrigan, Huriana Kopeke-Te Aho and Rebecca Ann Hobbs, Siliga David Setoga and Tokerau Wilson. Our usual business hours resume from Wednesday 8 January.

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“Mother Vaka” (2019) by Siliga David Setoga

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Throughout the year, we have relied heavily on our social media channels to communicate our programme and announcements but recognise this isn’t ideal for some of our audiences. In 2020, we endeavour to get our mailing list fully functioning and look forward to connecting with those who don’t use social media on the daily!

So, as the year winds to a close, we recognise and pay respect to our artist community – we couldn’t do any of this without you. To our 30+ exhibitors, and to our wonderful network of suppliers who have stocked our shop full to the brim with wonderful products, titles and small works – thank you so, so much. Thank you for trusting us with your work and ideas, and for allowing us to share them with the world.

Our 2020 programme is massive. We have a mix of monthly and two-monthly exhibitions, residencies and workshops galore. In two weeks we’ll be announcing our February programme, which is a deep dive into the word fat and we’re building up to a really special exhibition in March for the Auckland Arts Festival. It’s all go!

Wishing you all love and light for the festive season from warm and balmy South Auckland!

vinaka vakalevu

Community, Events

Dissecting Diversity in the Southside

We held the first of the Southside Talanoa Series events last month in Ōtāhuhu, a series of events Vunilagi Vou is producing with support from Auckland Council as part of the Pacific Arts Programme.

The panellists were facilitated by Yolande Ah Chong in a discussion around the complexities of working in the ‘diversity space’, sharing insights from both within and outside of the arts and cultural industries.

Nigel Borell

Kolokesa Uafā Māhina-Tuai

Guled Mire

Barbara Makuati-Afitu

Patrick Thomsen

The open forum enabled audiences to pose questions, make commentary and further dissect the idea of diversity from functional, philosophical and realistic angles. The full talanoa has been recorded by noted South Auckland-based sound artist and producer, Faiumu Matthew Salapu aka Anonymouz; the podcast will be available in the coming weeks.

The panel sat on mats and ngatu kindly lent from local artists Leilani Kake, Vea Mafile’o and Czarina Wilson, beneath a crocheted artwork produced for the Crochet You Stay project by Lissy Cole in collaboration with Leilani Kake with funding from the Creative New Zealand Suffrage 125 fund.

The event was a success and we are hugely grateful to this excellent panel. We were particularly excited to have Guled Mire in this space; he added tremendous value and helped us broker new territory for Pacific arts discourse in Aotearoa. Vinaka vakalevu!

The Southside Talanoa Series rolls out another event this month, For My Father’s Kingdom: For The Community, a free public screening of the new documentary film, For My Father’s Kingdom directed by Papatoetoe-based filmmakers, Vea Mafile’o and Jeremiah Tauamiti, followed by a panel discussion with Siniva Vaitohi (SAY Money Transfer) and Sarah McRobie (counselling specialist) in conversation with Vea Mafile’o.

This event is family friendly and open to the public; doors open at 3.30pm on Saturday 21 September at the Ōtāhuhu Leopards Rugby League Clubrooms in Bert Henham Park, 645 Great South Road, Ōtāhuhu.

For more information about the Southside Talanoa Series, get in touch here:

Community, Events

Launching Southside Talanoa Series

We’re excited to be to launching a new event programme, the Southside Talanoa Series, produced with support from Auckland Council as part of the Pacific Arts programme.

The events have been designed to engage local communities, whilst bringing in wider creative and cultural industries audiences to South Auckland spaces to broaden understanding of key issues that affect Pacific visual culture.

The series consists of three events:

Dissecting Diversity – a panel discussion featuring five perspectives on working in and around the diversity space, featuring Nigel Borell, Kolokesa Uafā Māhina-Tuai and Barbara Makuati-Afitu (Lagimaama Consultancy), Guled Mire and Seuta’afili Dr Patrick Thomsen, 4-6pm, Saturday 24 August at Ōtāhuhu Youth Space, 12-16 High Street, Ōtāhuhu, South Auckland
For My Father’s Kingdom: For The Community – a film screening of For My Father’s Kingdom (Dir. Vea Mafile’o and Jeremiah Tauamiti, Malosi Pictures) and panel discussion with Vea Mafile’o, Sarah McRobie and Siniva Vaitohi (SAY Money Transfer), 4-8pm, Saturday 21 September at Ōtāhuhu Rovers Rugby League Clubrooms, 645 Mount Wellington Highway, Ōtāhuhu, South Auckland
Southside Quiz Night – a quiz night centralising Pacific and South Auckland urban knowledge sets with Quiz Master Yolande Ah Chong, 4-7pm, Saturday 26 October at Star Hotel, 392 Great South Road, Ōtāhuhu, South Auckland

The Southside Talanoa Series events are free and open to the public. The first two events are family friendly and have ample free car parking. The third event venue is R18 and car parking is available across the road on the corner of Atkinson Avenue and High Street.

The series is a partnership with South Auckland-based sound artist and producer, Faiumu Matthew Salapu aka Anonymouz, who is producing a podcast / sound record of each event, which will be available here. Event speakers are also sharing a list of further reading and inspiring content, which will be available on the Southside Talanoa Series website.

Our event branding has been carefully hand-drawn by Auckland-based illustrator / graphic designer, Nicole Lim.

Enquiries

Community, Exhibitions

Sales, patches, talks and koha

After six weeks of business, we have opened our second exhibition, Putiputi and celebrated the successes of our inaugural exhibition, WWJD:2. Congratulations to Julia Mage’au Gray, Vea Mafile’o, Sinia Malua and Daniel Weetman, whose work was purchased and has gone to South Auckland-based private and public collections!

We are grateful for the coverage that Vunilagi Vou has attracted in the mainstream and Pacific media networks, check out some reviews, stories and interviews out here:

In our first six weeks, Ema hosted a number of floor talks for secondary and tertiary students, discussing the works in the exhibition and the wider kaupapa of the space. Students from Ambury Park Centre in Māngere were transfixed listening to local artist, Melissa Cole discussing her collaborative work, Mind That Māori made with her husband, Rudi Robinson.

Students from Ambury Park Centre, South Auckland, June 2019

Toihoukura Māori Visual Arts students, June 2019

Lissy Cole discussing her work

Customised floor talks can be booked for any of our exhibitions during normal business hours and school visits require a minimum of two weeks notice. Get in touch with Ema to discuss opportunities.

Our Vunilagi Vou patches have been out and about! Pacific artists on the road have shared photos from Hollywood to Guangzhou – thank you Vea Mafile’o and Jeremiah Tauamiti (Malosi Pictures), Czarina Wilson and Team FAFSWAG for taking a little piece of Vunilagi Vou on tour with you! New patches are now on sale along with small prints of Ema Tavola’s Legends series, the first work of which is dedicated to Sāmoan artist, Tanu Gago.

The gallery has been attracting a steady stream of visitors from all walks of life; we are grateful for the patronage and the support, and thankful for the excellent donations of functional things like plinths, and offers of installation skills – much appreciated! Koha and financial donations are also wonderful; we are not a publicly funded gallery so donations help us to deliver excellent exhibitions, exhibiting opportunities and creative inspiration across our broad and diverse audience base.

Photo by Raymond Sagapolutele

Thank you to the excellent team who have supported Ema in keeping the doors open as much as possible – to Melissa, Czarina and Leilani – your support is so very much appreciated. In June, Ema spoke at the Singapore Art Book Fair upon invitation from NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore on a panel on critical writing alongside H.G Masters (Deputy Editor and Deputy Publisher, ArtAsiaPacific) and Carlos Quijon Jr (Writer, Curator), expertly facilitated by Qinyi Lim, Curator, National Gallery Singapore. It was a privilege to speak a Pacific perspective into this space, and represent Vunilagi Vou internationally for the first time. The Singapore Art Book Fair itself was also hugely inspiring and watch this space for some exciting publishing projects in the pipeline!

The Vunilagi Vou Engine Room has been a busy too, hosting meetings and planning sessions, securing shows, sponsors and support, strategically building a robust programme of exhibitions, events and activations that almost entirely fill our first year of programming. This month, we trialled Vunilagi Vou Crit Club, a monthly gathering for creatives to generate critique of their work and projects in a culturally safe and supportive environment – Crit Club will become a regular feature of Vunilagi Vou’s programme from next month onwards!

Our next exhibition Fofonga ‘oe kau fakafoki – The faces of those who have returned is the first solo show of Auckland-based photographer, Todd Henry. This beautiful show opens on Tuesday 6 August from 6-8pm – all welcome!

Keep up to date with Vunilagi Vou updates on Instagram and Facebook

Events, Exhibitions

Open for business in Ōtāhuhu!

Photo by Raymond Sagapolutele

Vunilagi Vou formally opened on Friday 31 May 2019, a stormy night in South Auckland! Through driving rain and a hail storm, a beautiful mob of Pacific arts supporters came out to celebrate South Auckland’s newest little art space.

A huge thank you to those who supported with wine and food, thank you to Lissy Cole for the amazing catering, and Rudi Robinson for providing an excellent bar man service! Thank you to Vaimaila Urale for a generous koha of bubbles, and Nicole Lim for the cake!

The combined energies of everyone who came out to support and celebrate our launch were hugely uplifting and will undoubtedly set us on a good course, serving and growing the Vunilagi Vou community.

Our inaugural exhibition, WWJD:2 was well received – thank you to all the artists who helped launch Vunilagi Vou’s dynamic and fast turnover exhibition programme; we’ll be opening a new exhibition on the first Tuesday of every month!

Melissa Cole and Rudi Robinson

Leilani Kake

Margaret Aull

Andy Leleisi’uao

Sinia Malua

Molima Pihigia

Daniel Weetman

Niutuiatua Lemalu

Of the 15 works on display, most are for sale in line with Vunilagi Vou’s intention to make contemporary Pacific art accessible to new collectors. Notably, two beautiful paintings by Andy Leleisi’uao, one our sector’s most productive and successful practitioners, still based here in Māngere, South Auckland.

Andy Leleisi’uao has an outstanding survey show called Kamoan Mine on at Pah Homestead in Auckland’s Hillsborough until July 14. The exhibition is the artist’s most significant survey of more than 20 years of practice. It is such a privilege to have these two works, along with a series of print works in the Vunilagi Vou retail area, on show at the same time.

We opened the gallery with a fully stocked retail range including locally produced repurposed textile accessories and homeware by Lissy Cole Designs, hand-made organic coconut soaps by Mananuanua – the mother and daughter home-based small business of artist, Vaimaila Urale, a range of beautiful bilum bags from Papua New Guinea, small paintings by ‘Ahota’e’iloa Toetu’u, a custom range of earrings by Aolele Adornment and accessories and homeware by South Auckland-based mother and son small business, Kingdom Design Store driven by Tongan designer, Czarina Wilson.

Vunilagi Vou’s retail range is constantly evolving and also include a range of framed and unframed limited edition prints by Andy Leleisi’uao, Pati Solomona Tyrell and former Fresh Gallery Ōtara Gallery Coordinator and designer, Nicole Lim, who has contributed a very special edition (50) of her illustration work, Grassroots. The work speaks to both early Fresh Gallery Ōtara and Vunilagi Vou’s dedication to the power of engaging grassroots audiences, and enabling artists to be heard and seen. Thank you Nicole, it’s wonderful to be collaborating again!

Grassroots by Nicole Lim

Artist Nicole Lim, photo by Iokapeta Magele-Suamasi

The launch of Vunilagi Vou was made possible with support from Creative Communities Scheme – vinaka vakalevu!

Vunilagi Vou is open Tuesday to Thursday from 10am to 5pm, Friday from 10am to 6pm and Saturday from 11am – 4pm. Find advice for getting to the space here.

Our next exhibition opens on Tuesday 2 July – watch this space for details, or follow Vunilagi Vou on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!

vinaka vakalevu

Exhibitions

A new contemporary Pacific art gallery opens in South Auckland on Queen’s Birthday Weekend

Media release: 21 May 2019

A new art gallery in Ōtāhuhu has contemporary Pacific art and audiences at its core. Vunilagi Vou, opening on Queen’s Birthday weekend, will show a new exhibition each month, sell art works and objects and provide a communal space for creatives to come together.

Gallery Director Ema Tavola (Fiji, Pākehā) says that a dedicated space for contemporary Pacific art, that recognises the importance of historical context and community connections, is much needed.

“Our exhibitions programme will highlight important social commentary on issues that affect our lives as Pacific people; expanding the idea and potential of what contemporary Pacific art is and can be.”

Ema says there is a particular focus for the gallery on local artists from the wider Ōtāhuhu and Māngere area and women artists. “We’ll be supporting emerging artists into their exhibition experiences as well as showing work by senior artists who exhibit in central Auckland and internationally.”

Making buying and collecting art more accessible is another important aim of the gallery. “We know there are plenty of people, particularly young professionals, who are interested in original art and supporting artists, and we want to empower and enable that.”

Vunilagi Vou’s opening exhibition, WWJD:2 is a vibrant snapshot of the breadth and depth of contemporary Pacific art, from a South Auckland perspective generally, and specifically Ema’s perspective. “This is my first local exhibition in a long time that speaks directly to my art ecology; the networks and energies that sustain me.”

WWJD:2 featured artists draw heritage from the Cook Islands, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Sāmoa and Tonga as well as New Zealand (Māori and Pākeha) and Australia. They range from emerging to established, nodding to the intergenerational connections within Aotearoa’s contemporary Pacific art history. Works take diverse forms including textiles, photography, painting, film and paper.

The exhibition, which is supported by Creative NZ’s Creative Communities programme, is the second in the ‘What Would Jim Do’ series paying homage to the renowned late Cook Islands curator, Jim Vivieaere, who passed away on June 3, 2011.

ENDS

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact Ema Tavola // hello@vunilagivou.com // 0275 779 369

Notes to editors

Vunilagi Vou

South Auckland’s new gallery centralising contemporary Pacific Art and audiences.
Where: 4/256 Great South Road, Ōtāhuhu (down arcade)
Opening hours: Opens to public Saturday 1 June, then open Tuesday – Thursday from 10am – 5pm, Friday 10am – 6pm, Saturday 11am – 4pm
Contact: Ema Tavola, email: hello@vunilagivou.com, mobile: 027 5779369
Vunilagi in Fijian language commonly refers to the horizon, but can be broken down as vu- meaning trunk, as in the trunk of a tree, and -lagi the abbreviated version of lomalagi, heaven. Ni serves to connect the two, so vunilagi is that which holds up the heavens. Vou means new.
Vunilagi Vou is also an umbrella for Tavola’s consultancy work, producing events and community engagement initiatives in the South Auckland area
Vunilagi Vou retail: As well as the works in most exhibitions, Vunilagi Vou will sell a small range of art objects by local creatives, including:
- Tyla Vaeau Ta’ufo’ou – Prints
- Lissy Cole Design – Textile works
- Kingdom Design – Homeware and accessories
- Aolele Adornment – Jewellery
- Molly Pihigia – Jewellery

WWJD:2 Exhibiting Artists

Margaret Aull (Tuwharetoa / Te Rarawa, Fiji)
Melissa Cole (Ngati Hine, Ngati Kahu)
Tanu Gago (Sāmoa, NZ)
Julia Mage’au Gray (Papua New Guinea, Australia)
Leilani Kake (Ngapuhi / Tainui, Cook Islands)
Andy Leleisi’uao (Sāmoa, NZ)
Niutuiatua Lemalu (Sāmoa, NZ)
Sinia Malua (Tonga, NZ)
Vea Mafile’o (Tonga, NZ)
Molly Pihigia (Niue, NZ)
‘Ahota’e’iloa Toetu’u (Tonga, NZ)
Vaimaila Urale (Sāmoa, NZ)
Daniel Weetman (Fiji, NZ)

About the Gallery Director

Gallery Director Ema Tavola, born in Suva, Fiji, and based in Papatoetoe, has spent almost 20 years working within the South Auckland creative sector as a curator, producer, researcher, teacher and artist.

Her curatorial practice is a mechanism for social inclusion, centralising Pacific ways of seeing, decolonisation and exhibition making as a form of activism. She was the founding curator of Fresh Gallery Ōtara and has produced close to 80 exhibitions foregrounding work by Pacific artists to be shown both locally and internationally, most recently including 2018’s ‘A Maternal Lens’, shown at the 4th International Biennial of Casablanca in Morocco.

Image credits