The Dreamtime Connection | Te Hononga Moemoeā

Toi Māori Aotearoa Media Release

Wednesday 23 January 2013

For Immediate Release

The Dreamtime Connection | Te Hononga Moemoeā

Te Hononga Moemoeā is the first step in establishing a Trans-Tasman music exchange between the indigenous Māori music community of New Zealand and the indigenous music community of Australia.

Toi Māori Aotearoa1 is pleased to announce in conjunction with Songlines Aboriginal Music Corporation, the visit of the Melbourne based SKIN Choir to New Zealand for a five day programme of cultural and musical exchange.

The SKIN choir is made up of Victorian indigenous artists who compose and perform songs based around cultural identity, mainstream stereotyping, urban living as well as a range of other topics that relate to Indigenous Australians with mixed heritage. The purpose of the choir is to inform audiences of what it means to be Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, which is not only determined by the colour of skin but also by family kinships, community connections and culture.

The SKIN Choir will perform during Wellington Te Rā O Waitangi | Waitangi Day celebrations* on Wednesday 06 February Odlins Plaza, Wellington Waterfront. Te Papa Tongarewa* on Thursday 7 February from 12pm-1pm Level 4, Te Marae. The SKIN Choir will visit local Kura Kaupapa and schools within the Wellington region. The visit will climax in a performance with Maori musicians at the Toi Māori Exhibition “Aho Whenua – Threads sown from Earth” on Saturday 9 February from 2pm at Pātaka Art + Museum in Porirua*.

Chairperson of Pūatatangi (the Toi Māori Aotearoa Music Committee) Ngahiwi Apanui says “Te Hononga Moemoeā is about hosting our manuhiri (visitors) in accordance with our customs and actively sharing who we are through our music. This is the start of an enduring relationship based on indigeneity which will be enriched over many years to come”.

-- 1 Toi Māori Aotearoa is a charitable trust established to promote Māori arts. * These events are free and open to the general public.

ABOUT TOI MĀORI AOTEAROA

Toi Māori Aotearoa: Māori Arts New Zealand is a Charitable Trust and an umbrella organisation that promotes and supports the development of contemporary Māori arts. Toi Māori receives annual operational funding from Creative New Zealand. www.maoriart.org.nz

ABOUT SONGLINES ABORIGINAL MUSIC CORPORATION

Songlines Music Aboriginal Corporation was established in 1996 by a group of Aboriginal musicians and friends in an effort to: give voice to Aboriginal peoples, celebrate and preserve the diversity of Victoria’s Indigenous Cultures and promote reconciliation and healing by bringing together Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples. www.songlines.net.au

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