Vā Moana Reading Group May 2021

We are thrilled to invite you to May's Vā Moana Reading Group. This one is extra special as it will be held in the exhibition Pouwātū: Active Presence at Objectspace. Pouwātū is a collaboration between John Miller (Ngāpuhi) and Elisapeta Heta (Ngātiwai, Waikato Tainui). You can read more about the exhibition here, but given the whare "seeks to balance the physical and spiritual worlds, reorienting our understanding of space" we think it an appropriate place to be discussing the vā! We are lucky to have Elisapeta joining us, and she will make the space safe for us to have kava. Please bring an 'ula, lei or necklace to wear during the session for 'ava protocol. Many thanks to Elisapeta and Objectspace for hosting us.

Having wrapped up our previous texts in April's reading group, we will begin reading The Woven Universe: Selected Writings of Rev. Māori Marsden. We will continue with this text across several months, alongside others that will hopefully deepen our exploration of cosmologies; the vā; the space between; the fabric of the universe. Our texts for this month are:

Te Ahukaramū Charles Royal, The Woven Universe: Selected Writings of Rev. Māori Marsden (2003). Editor's Introduction.

Karlo Mila, Taula: the Anchor. Waa/Vaa (particularly 'kupenga').

Mata Aho Collective, Aka (2019). Images, text and video.

Additional pages are included in the PDFs should you want to contextualise the sections we'll be discussing, but reading them is optional.

The reading group will be held on Wednesday 19 May, 1.30–4.00pm at Objectspace (13 Rose Road, Ponsonby). If you need assistance in getting to Objectspace from AUT, please let us know as we could arrange transportation. You are also welcome to join us via Zoom: https://aut.zoom.us/j/97692108265?pwd=aWRxbVpoaklkUzVtNGZ0UjRXNUFxQT09

This is open to Vā Moana affiliates and candidates, Māori and Pacific postgraduate students, as well as extended aiga and those in their final year of their undergraduate degrees. Please RSVP to autpacificspaces@gmail.com.