New Zealand Exhibition Showcasing Māori Culture Visits Los Angeles 23 Oct - 2 Nov 2017

Tuku iho Living Legacy will feature in-situ Māori art demonstrations, live Tā moko - Māori tattoo, carving demonstrations, and live Kapa haka performing arts alongside a selection of contemporary Māori artworks handcrafted by students and teachers from the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute in Rotorua, New Zealand.

•Dates: 9am - 6.30pm daily - 23 October - November 2
•Venue: The Rose Room, 6 Rose Ave. Venice Beach, LA
•Chance to win round trip tickets for two to New Zealand
•Admission to the exhibition is Free

To learn more about this free event and for updates click here.

As part of the activities, visitors will have a chance to win round trip tickets for two to New Zealand and to witness Kapa haka or traditional Māori performing arts on Santa Monica Pier. During the exhibition a tekoteko (ancestral figure) will be carved and officially gifted to the city of Los Angeles by New Zealand High Commissioner Maurice Williamson as an important symbol of connection across the Pacific.

Learn more about the Santa Monica Pier event here

Against the backdrop of sacred objects and treasures that tell the history of the respective tribes who use them, a group of artists will perform traditional dances and songs while Māori tattooists showcase the craft of tā moko and speakers lead artistic interactions on the influence of Māori culture and arts on life in the present day. In its fusion of the traditional and the contemporary, Tuku Iho | Living Legacy is a remarkable representation of the diversity of Aotearoa New Zealand's culture to audiences in the United States.

Project director Karl Johnstone describes the installation as "having been developed as a shared exchange with the global community. Our culture and our various artistic practices are a platform for building and strengthening relationships." Johnstone also describes the aim of the program to "not only to showcase New Zealand, but to also learn as much as we can about other cultures and to create dialogue about identity and its importance to our individual and collective well-being."