WHAT IS IT?

HE AHA TENEI?

The Mīharo annual Art Exhibition and Awards night is an opportunity to showcase art from Early Childhood Education, Primary and Secondary schools, and 18-25 year olds. The exhibition is free to enter and is displayed for a number of weeks in a local gallery. The Murihiku exhibition is held at Mīharo, and the Central Lakes Exhibition is held at Te Atamira, Frankton.


The theme for this years exhibition is "Legends of Our Lands -Our people, our places, our stories.''


We encourage you to explore legends and stories from all of our beautiful surrounding Pacific Islands, as well as investigate different mediums of art and creative ways to portray these stories.

Māori and Pasifika peoples have always passed on stories to children to ensure the intergenerational transmission of knowledge, understandings, traditions and wisdom from their ancestors.


Through this practice, accounts of worldview perspectives, legendary ancestors, historical events, inspiring people, and stories of how places were formed and named, all become implanted in a child’s mind. They help to explain human existence, characteristics of human nature, the environment, and the basis of a cultural worldview. They are an integral part of cultural identity and the use of imagery and symbolism are woven within these precious stories.


Mīharo Murihiku is so excited to see how our Kohanga Reo, ECE's, Schools, Kura Kaupapa, Mana Whenua and communities work together to interpret and present this knowledge through the arts. "Legends of Our Lands -Our people, our places, our stories.''

Click here to download the Unit Overview

BREAK DOWN

The theme can be separated into three possible areas for you to draw your inspiration from:

A black and white drawing of a light bulb on a white background.

Creation Legends

Stories about the origin of something; how the world and everything in it came to be. Often involving atua, supernatural beings, or events which explain the creation of environmental elements.

A black and white drawing of an open book on a white background.

Historical Legends

Tell stories of specific people, ancestors, tupuna, events and the places our people inhabit.

A black and white drawing of a person on a white background.

Personal Legends

Your stories of people, places, islands and events within your own whakapapa, whānau, aiga, fanau.

Still looking for inspiration? Click the button below to view a list of whakatauki (proverbs) related to the theme, from different Polynesian languages

Whakatauki - Proverbs

DATES AND DETAILS

Due date for art entries for both exhibitions will be announced with our 2025 Programme of Events soon.

If you have any questions about the exhibition or awards night, please email aroha@miharo.org (Central Lakes), or  elisapeta@miharo.org (Murihiku)


All Murihiku Art Exhibition entries delivered to:

Mīharo

28 Don Street, Ground Floor

Inverargill 9810


All Central Lakes Art Exhibition entries delivered to:

Te Atamira Art Gallery

11/12 Hawthorne Drive

Frankton

Tāhuna Queenstown 9300


Entries need to include a completed label, available here

A woman and a little girl are looking at paintings on a wall.

T-SHIRT DESIGN COMPETITION

Each year we hold an annual T-Shirt design competition, open to ECE through to Secondary Schools. The theme for this years design is "Legends of Our Lands- Our People, Our Places, Our Stories."


There is a separate due date and winner for the Murihiku and Central Lakes regions. The winning design is printed onto that regions Polyfest T-Shirts, and worn by hundreds of volunteers and community members.


The winner is announced at the local Art Awards night. Winners and their whānau will be contacted ahead of time.


Download the Murihiku T-Shirt design template here.

Download the Central Lakes T-Shirt design template here.


Due dates will be announced soon.

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