Landmark Parihaka Book To Be Launched In New Year

The voice of Parihaka will live on beyond the closing of City Gallery Wellington's current exhibition, when a ground-breaking book is launched on 20 January 2001.

Parihaka: The Art of Passive Resistance is a 200 page, lavishly illustrated hardcover book exploring the art history, poetry and cultural traditions of Parihaka, as well as the historical, political and spiritual significance of the place.

"It is significant that this publication is launched on the day of the formal closing ceremony of the Parihaka exhibition," says Paula Savage, director of City Gallery Wellington. "This is much more than a catalogue of the exhibition. It will be a book that New Zealanders will want to have in their homes, schools and libraries. It is a milestone in the legacy of Parihaka, and an important moment for publishing in this country."

Parihaka: The Art of Passive Resistance is a co-publication between City Gallery Wellington, Victoria University Press, and the Parihaka Pa Trustees. It features full-colour plates of major artworks shown in the exhibition; reproductions of the commissioned works; photography; poetry specially commissioned for the exhibition; discussion of earlier plays, songs and poems; and a series of essays on aspects of Parihaka.

Writers include New Zealand's foremost historians and art historians, and rangatira and kaumatua from Parihaka Pa. The publication begins with a history of Parihaka by Hazel Riseborough. Te Miringa Hohaia, of Parihaka, translates and comments on sayings and speeches of Te Whiti o Rongomai and Tohu Kakahi, providing English translation and annotation. An overview is given of the songs of Parihaka.

Professor Paul Morris (Victoria University) has written about Te Whiti, Gandhi and other passive resistance movements, and Te Huirangi Waikerepuru discusses the spiritual aspects of his community. The 'art history' of Parihaka is explored by James Mack, Jonathan Mane-Wheoki, Diedre Brown, Lara Strongman and Gregory O'Brien (City Gallery Wellington), and Wystan Curnow.

Parihaka: The Art of Passive Resistance (ISBN: 0864734050) is available from good bookshops RRP $75.00 and from City Gallery Wellington at the special price of $69.95, and at www.city-gallery.org.nz

A CD of the same name has also been released. Produced in association with Trust Records, it features music inspired by the story of Parihaka, and extracts from the poems commissioned by the Gallery for the exhibition, read by the poets themselves. It can be sampled and purchased at City Gallery Wellington, and from music stores and www.trustcds.com, priced at $34.95. It will also be available at the special price of $24.50 if purchased at the Gallery along with the Parihaka catalogue (total price $94.45).

The CD is generously supported by The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and Radio New Zealand.

The exhibition Parihaka: The Art of Passive Resistance is a partnership project between City Gallery Wellington and Parihaka Pa Trustees.

Generously supported by: New Zealand Millennium Office; The New Zealand Lottery Grants Board; Creative New Zealand Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa; Wellington City Council; Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa; Taranaki Museum. Generously sponsored by: Bell Gully Barristers and Solicitors; Wakatu Incorporation; Tohu Wines; Parininihi Ki Waitotara Incorporation; The Dominion; The Evening Post; Saatchi & Saatchi; City Gallery Wellington Foundation. City Gallery Wellington is managed by the Wellington Museums Trust with major funding from the Wellington City Council.

ENDS.

Anne Irving Publicist T: 04 801 3959 F: 04 801 3950 Parihaka - The Art of Passive Resistance 26 August - 19 January 2001 Admission Free Check out: http://www.parihaka.city-gallery.org.nz

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