International Contemporary Art Exhibition Arrives In Hastings Through Artspace Aotearoa Partnership

This summer, Te Whare Toi o Heretaunga Hastings Art Gallery is presenting The tongue to them, an exhibition developed by Artspace Aotearoa that brings together international and national contemporary art for regional audiences.

First shown at Artspace Aotearoa in Tāmaki Makaurau, the exhibition considers how language shapes history, culture, and relationships. It features artworks from Aotearoa New Zealand, Malaysia, and the Philippines, connected through Austronesian languages – a large language family spoken across Southeast Asia and the Pacific, which includes te reo Māori.

The exhibition includes work by Aotearoa artists Darcell Apelu, Heidi Brickell, and the late Buck Nin, alongside Dutch-Filipino artist Martha Atienza and Malaysian artist Yee I-Lann. The artworks span sculpture, installation, video, and textiles, and are grounded in specific cultural, geographic, and community contexts across the Pacific and Southeast Asia.

Kairahuī Curator Robbie Handcock of Artspace Aotearoa says the exhibition was always intended to travel. “We’re pleased this project can reach audiences beyond Tāmaki Makaurau. Touring the exhibition allows the work to be encountered in different regional contexts and opens up new conversations.”

Te Whare Toi o Heretaunga Hastings Art Gallery Director Sophie Davis says the exhibition reflects the Gallery’s role in bringing nationally and internationally significant art into the region for audiences to access. “Working with Artspace allows us to bring these artworks from Aotearoa and the wider Pacific to our communities in Heretaunga.”

The tongue to them opened on 6 December and continues until 28 February.

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