Pūtahitanga and awakening the taniwha

shared Lines collaborative

Art building resilient communities

Pūtahitanga

Property Partner: Wellington City Council.

Location: Te Ngākau Civic Square

Dates: Summer 2021 - 2022

Sponsor: L.T. McGuiness

Website: Shared Lines Pūtahitanga

Awakening the taniwha

Property Partner: Readings Cinema

Location: 106 Courtenay Place (ex-STA Travel)

Dates: 18 February - 13 March 2022

Now - 30 April 2022 - bookings only

Website: Shared Lines Collaborative to book.

Photography: Linda Lee

Awaken the Taniwha! Shared Lines Collective invite the public to come together this summer to create, responding to new and existing collaborative artwork, highlighting new ways we are working together in Aotearoa in light of the impact of Covid - following our need to connect better with our environment and each other. 

A 72-metre banner has been installed in Te Ngākau Civic Square - flowing long like an awa across the outside of vacant civic buildings - the work of 60 artists from around the nation in response to the isolation experienced during Covid lockdown. This work was first shown in Cathedral Square Christchurch. 

Pūtahitanga (a word that can be translated to mean a joining place) draws on the surrealist tradition of ‘exquisite corpse’ where each artist contributes an element as part of a collaborative whole.

Awakening the Taniwha provides the opportunity for the public to respond by sharing their own lines. In an inner-city vacant space master carver Natanahira Pona and artists Ngaroma Riley and Linda Lee provide a variety of ways for people of all ages to understand taniwha, why  tupuna held them in such high esteem, and how we can maintain relationships with them today. 

Taniwha are supernatural creatures who inhabit rivers, lakes, caves or the sea - some terrifying, others protective. Taniwha are our ancient guide to resource management and perhaps a new way to navigate our understanding of the Covid pandemic. 

The space will also provide a reading and conversational/writing room for sharing perspectives while an exhibition will include viewings of the 60 Pūtahitanga artists original artworks.

This project also highlights the rich history of Te Whanganui-a-Tara’s own taniwha, Ngake and Whātaitai, and our connection with the natural world. 

Shared Lines emerged out of the earthquake events that devastated Canterbury, New Zealand, and Fukushima, Japan in 2011. Shared Lines is now an established collective of artists and art producers that aim to promote artistic exchange between cities and use art to build resilient cities. They have previously held major festivals and events in Christchurch, Japan, Wellington and Kaikōura. 

Shared Lines would like to thank Wellington City Council, L.T. McGuiness, Urban Dream Brokerage, Creative New Zealand, Gordon Harris The Art and Graphic Store, Christchurch City Council and Adgraphix.