Whakawhiti: Toi WhakaTAA <> Toi WhakaATA

Whakawhiti

Toi WhakaTAA <> Toi WhakaATA

Celebrating 20 years revealing to light

2006 – 2026

Whakawhiti marks a milestone moment in the work of the national Māori printmakers collective through the work of six key members in Gabrielle Belz, Maude Cook-Davies, Vanessa Edwards, Jasmine Horton, Faith McManus and Alexis Neal. This exhibition celebrates and reflects on 20 years of this unique collective with signature works from across this time presented alongside new works.

Established in 2006 at a hui in Whanganui, this was a moment to make visible Māori artists invested in printmaking and to advance a collective vision for the discipline within contemporary Māori art. Given the name Toi WhakaTAA – to leave an artistic impression – it announced the rōpū’s intentions. On the shores of Lake Taupō in 2016, marking ten years of the collective, the name evolved to Toi WhakaATA meaning to ‘reveal to light’, reflecting its growth which reaffirmed the kaupapa of the collective.  It seems fitting that this exhibition titled Whakawhiti speaks to this current moment of transition, exchange and development.

The collective has fostered a culture of collaboration, exchange and mutual support, embracing artists exploring a broad range of printmaking techniques, practices and innovations while maintaining a kaupapa Māori approach.

Toi WhakaATA continues to be a platform for mentorship and cultural exchange. It has strengthened relationships between established, emerging and international artists all invested in revealing to light the enduring nature of this artform and its artists in Aotearoa and beyond.  This exhibition celebrates how Toi WhakaATA has redefined printmaking in Aotearoa and located the discipline within a whakapapa of toi Māori as an important and enduring art practice.

Whakawhiti — Opening Speech

Vanessa Edwards

Whakawhiti opening, 1 August 2026

"When I talk about 20 years revealing to light I can barely believe it has been that long. This extract serves as a reflection, a personal account of how this all began.

I think it is important to explain that during the first two decades we had two names, Toi Whakataa (2006 - 2016) to Toi Whakaata (2016 - 2026 onwards). A lot can be said for a name and this exhibition purposefully references both.

To begin, I am borrowing text from fellow founding member Anna-Marie White, who wrote our first intro essay as an established roopu.

“Toi Whakataa Māori print collective was formed in 2006. However its origins began at a Māori Glass and Printmakers hui held at the Quay School of Fine Arts, Whanganui in 2002. This was the first gathering of Māori printmakers with participants traveling from all corners of the country, and Australia to attend. These included senior and well-established practitioners like, Gabrielle Belz, Faith McManus, Anna-Marie White, Simon Kaan, Gina Ropiha and Margie Brown alongside fairly ‘green’ students, Mike Samuels and myself who had yet to complete our training. Many relished the opportunity to meet with other Māori who had been allured by the magic of printmaking. While the artists spent their days in the studio, sharing information, techniques and experience, the evenings were spent in whakawhiti korero or debate. An important topic of discussion related to the status of Māori artists who specialise in European traditions of art. Unlike carving or weaving, printmaking didn’t have an obvious whakapapa within Te Ao Māori. While there are synergies with customary Māori art like Toi Whakairo (carving) or Taa Moko (tattoo), it would be argued that our ancient ancestors didn’t leave a printed tradition. This raised the following questions. What does it mean to identify as a printmaker who is Māori and could there be such a thing as Māori printmaking? There was clearly a strong group of artists who expressed their Māoritanga through printmaking. But for many, printmaking was not just a technique; the demanding and exacting process of printmaking is critical to their identity as artists and to their work. As one participant put it, ‘I am Māori but I am also a printmaker.’ We were clearly in uncharted waters” (White, 2007)

Then in 2006, a second workshop was initiated by Mike Samuels and myself under the watchful eye of Gabrielle. Both of us had recently graduated from art school and like others, were working to establish reputations as emerging Māori artists.

The kaupapa for the second workshop sought to realise many of the aspirations floated in the first. Foremost was to mobilise the group and seek opportunities for its members. Most importantly however, was to keep the network warm, and to support its members in respect to Māoritanga in relation to printmaking.

Those founding members were, Gabrielle Belz, Margie Brown, Anna-Marie White, Sam Farquhar, Alexis Neal, Mike Samuels, Alethea Nathan and myself. As a result we determined that there was a desire for a collective and it was here that the name Toi Whakataa - meaning to leave an artistic impression, was offered to us by Marty Vreede, who explained the phrase was coined by Morvin Simon as a potential title for a Māori print course that Marty was thinking about developing. We liked it and claimed it, and Toi WhakaTAA was established. This name not only related to the technique of printmaking but also to the aspirations and spirit of the group at the time.

The first 10 years saw us busying ourselves getting to know each other by having small exhibitions all over the place, from Kura Gallery and Solander Gallery in Wellington to running workshops at Artstation in Auckland and having shows and get-togethers everywhere in between. We were encouraged by Toi Māori and Te Atinga - Contemporary Māori Arts Committee and under the strong leadership of Gabrielle we established ourselves within a Māori Art space. We were honing our skills and developing strong ties and friendships.

10 years on, in 2016 on the shores of lake Taupo. We gathered again to reaffirm our purpose and clarify our direction. It was here at the lake that a few old and new faces were welcomed into the fold, Faith McManus, Maude Cook-Davies, Jasmine Horton, Natalie Couch, Keatly Hoptkins, and Raewyn Graham joined the original roopu and during that week we printed, planned, laughed, swam, cried, ate, slept, swam and connected on the shores of our great kōpū kanapanapa.

It was here that a new name was offered and discussed. The TAA would be changed to ATA, a simple reference to the dawn which was described by Gabrielle as revealing to light, referring more intimately to the moment when all printmakers pull the paper away from the matrix and the image laboured over is revealed. The a-ha moment would become the a-ta moment. But more importantly this action refers directly to our Māori creation narrative, when the world was revealed to light for the first time after the separation of Ranginui and Papatuanuku as well as the dawn of every new day, when Tamanui-te ra rises.

The graduation to this name was a shift in purpose. We found our print whakapapa embedded in the creation story, in the first love and the first dawn. We found agency and autonomy in claiming Toi Whakaata - to artistically reveal to light. Coined by our own for our own, strong in its simplicity but rich with layers of meaning. We have had many achievements and challenges along the way but like any whanau we have endured and return to knowing that each day brings a new dawn and a new opportunity to progress.

That brings us to Whakawhiti, the chosen name of this exhibition which has many meanings: to transfer, convey, transpose. To cross over, interchange, exchange or swap and when followed by kōrero - it means to discuss or deliberate. Finally Whakawhiti means to make shine.

This name speaks to the collective experience within Toi Whakaata depicting the nature of the printmaker as ever evolving, as well as our rōpū as one of constant exchange. The exchange of mātauranga, pūkenga, time and space. It also speaks to the act of exchanging work as freely as one would exchange knowledge or skills. The practice of koha—gifting and trading, are measures of gratitude and acknowledgement of time. These exchanges act as markers, reminding us of encounters and shared aspirations. Our rōpū engages in this practice as a form of manaakitanga and milestone marking as Māori printmakers.

Whakawhiti gives us an opportunity to refine and clarify our voice within the print canon of Aotearoa. We feel Wairau Māori Art Gallery within the Hundertwasser Museum, is the right place to support our aim to reveal our aspirations within te Ao Māori. This is a significant opportunity, and I would like to acknowledge the chair - Elisabeth Ellis, the director - Larissa McMillan and the team at Wairau Māori Art Gallery for welcoming us into the Wairau whanau. It is a dream space to curate and exhibit in.

Finally to our printmaking whanau, the 5 women selected here as strong pou wahine who acknowledge print as core to their practice and identities as Maori makers and to all the print whanau who affiliate and contribute to Toi Whakaata over the last two decades and beyond, I acknowledge you.

Developing new understandings and reframing customary practices within an indigenous world view is a unique and challenging space, but one I feel honoured to be a part of and humbly offer this as one printmakers recollection and understanding of Māori printmaking practice right now and I very much look forward to the next decade or two."

Timeline

2006 - Māori Print Wananga.  22nd - 28th January 2006, Quay School of the Arts, Whanganui. The establishment of Toi Whakataa - Māori Print Collective. Attended by Gabrielle Belz, Vanessa Edwards, Mike Samuels, Alexis Neal, Anna-Marie White, Sam Farquhar, Alethea Nathan, Margie Brown & Marty Vreede.

2006 - Southern Graphics Print conference. 5th - 9th April, Wisconsin University - Madison Wisconsin USA. Attended by Vanessa Edwards and Mike Samuels after being invited by Professor John Hitchcock of Wisconsin University.  

2007 – 2008 Mai i te Rito – From the heart of the plant. Nov - Feb. Aratoi, Masterton. Central Print Council. 

Invited by the Central Print Council to exhibit within their collective, as our own group. Printmakers included: Gabrielle Belz, Sam Farquhar, Alexis Neal, Vanessa Edwards, Faith McManus

2008 - 10th Festival of Pacific Arts, American Samoa. Attended by Cerisse Palalagi, Natalie Couch, Gabrielle Belz in association with Toi Māori.

2008 - Nga Whetu Whitinga - Rising Stars. July. Solander Gallery, Wellington. Artists: Ruth Greencole, Alexis Neal, Cerisse Palalagi, Gabrielle Belz, Sam Farquhar, Vanessa Edwards - curator.  In association with Kyla Cresswell.   

2011 - Print wananga series, March - May 2011. Artstation, Auckland.    

Organised by Gabrielle Belz, these aimed to encourage more Māori participation in the print media by facilitating a series of 4 workshops attended by different members of Toi Whakataa to assist in sharing knowledge and inspiring young artists and print enthusiasts.

2012 - Tai Ohua – Spring tides. 18th Sept - 6th Oct. Arts Station, Auckland. 

A collective project including an exhibition featuring the core group and supporting artists new to the print process. 

2014 - Kokiri Putahi international indigenous visual arts gathering.  Te Atinga, Toi Ngāpuhi. Jan. Kaikohe

Toi Whakataa hosted with Gabrielle Belz, Faith McManus, Vanessa Edwards, Natalie Couch - International Artists - Marwin Begaye, Linley Logan, Mikiala Souza, Lillian Pitt 

2016 - Toi Whatakataa Wananga - Celebrating 10 years as a collective, January, Poukura Marae - Western Bays Lake Taupo. It was here that the korero around identifying our print whakapapa began to crystallise, resulting in the changing of the name.  Attendees - Vanessa Edwards, Gabrielle Belz, Faith McManus, Sam Farquhar, Alexis Neal, Maude Cook-Davies, Alethea Nathan, Keatly Hopkins, Jasmine Horton, Natalie Couch, Raewyn Graham, . Documentation of Photo and film by Tia Ranginui. 

Mua Ki Muri - Looking back to the future.  Toi Whakataa Maori Print Collaborative – Celebrating 10 years. 23 April – 13 June, Taupo Museum. Taupo.

Toi Whakataa Maori Print Collaborative has been over 10 years in the making. In January, 2016 Toi Whakataa held a wananga at Poukura marae on the shores of lake Taupo to mark 10 years as a roopu. 

2017 - Tears of Duk’WihahL International Indigenous Visual Arts gathering. 23rd August -1st September, Longhouse Evergreen Campus, Olympia, USA.

Attended by Vanessa Edwards & Jasmine Horton

2018 - HAE HAEA – An exhibition of Clay and Print. 2nd- 23rd Feb, Percy Thompson Gallery, Stratford Taranaki. 

A Te Atinga initiative curated by Gabrielle Belz invited Māori Printmakers to exhibit with Maori Clay artists.  Fundamentally Toi Whakaata represented print and Te Kaihanga Uku represented clay. Printmakers - Gabrielle Belz, Alexi Neal, Faith McManus, Sam Farquhar, Vanessa Edwards

2018 -Tuia Toi Whakaata – 16th December 2018 – March 2019, Te Whare Taonga o Kororāreka – Russell Museum. Russell.

A response to Tuia - Encounters 250 - the national commemorations to acknowledge New Zealand's exceptional voyaging traditions of the first Pacific explorers in Aotearoa and their descendants' first encounters with James Cook. Curated by Faith McManus.

2020 - 2022 Pacific Print Project. 

The Pacific Print Project was a print portfolio exchange and included 17 artists from Māori and Pacific backgrounds. instagram@pacificprintproject.

Te Awa Reo. 31 Oct - 14 February 2021, Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery, Whanganui. Exhibition,14 arts respond to scientific research of a 8.75 metre core sample of sediment taken from the Atene Meander on the Whanganui River.  Printmakers: Faith McManus, Sam Farquhar, Alexis Neal, Vanessa Edwards, Gabrielle Belz, Maude Cook-Davies, Jasmine Horton

2022 - Nau te rourou, naku te rourou - with your basket and my basket. 15th - 26th March. Art&Lit Lab Madison Wisconsin USA

Exhibition of works by Alexis Neal, Vanessa Edwards and Marwin Begaye. Featuring a group show from Toi Whakaata members. 

2023 - Printopia. 5th - 7th May. Corbans Estate, Auckland 

Toi Whakaata to do panel discussion on the Pacific Print Project and the Collective. Gabrielle Belz, Faith McManus, Alexis Neal, Vanessa Edwards, Jasmine Horton. 

2024 - Printopia. 3rd - 5th May. Corbans Estate, Auckland

Toi Whakaata presented, discussing whakawhanaungatanga as a core value within the rōpū emphasising common ground and building on relationships. Presenters included Gabrielle Belz, Faith McManus and Vanessa Edwards. 

2025 - Wā - time. 29th April - 17th May at Brownes School of Art, Auckland. 

Artists: Gabrielle Belz, Vanessa Edwards, Jasmine Horton, Alexis Neal - curator. 

2025 - Printopia. 2nd - 4th May, Corbans Estate, Auckland.

Toi Whakaata presented for the third year.  Discussing connections and relationships established through personal experiences. Presenters: Vanessa Edwards, Gabrielle Belz & Alexis Neal. 

2025 - Karanga Atu, Karanga Mai. 11 June - 22 Sept. Te Atamira Gallery, Queenstown.

Curated by Vanessa to honour her mother in Frankton Queenstown. Featuring existing and new works and adornments by Vanessa Edwards, Alexis Neal, Jasmine Horton and Tessa Russell. 

Toi Tu, Toi Whakaata planning wananga. 17th - 24th Nov. Te Kowhai Print Trust, Whangarei.

Attendees: Faith McManus, Maude Cook-Davies, Gabrielle Belz, Jasmine Horton, Alexis Neal, Vanessa Edwards, Nyle Turuwhenua, Charlotte Graham, Keatly Hopkins, Julia Barber.  In partnership with Hamish Oakley-Brown & the team at TKPT.

Whakapapatia. 22nd Nov - 24th Dec. Hihiaua Cultural Center, Whangarei

Artists:  Faith McManus - curator, Jasmine Horton - curator, Maude Cook-Davies, Gabrielle Belz, Alexis Neal, Vanessa Edwards, Nyle Turuwhenua, Charlotte Graham, Julia Barber 

2026 - Printopia. He Kapu ti mau?  Exhibition, Toi Whakaata - Māori Print collective acknowledging 20 years. 1st - 13th May. Eyes on Fire Gallery, 15 Great North Rd, Auckland. 

Artists: Alexis Neal, Gabrielle Belz - curator, Vanessa Edwrads, Natalie Couch Jasmine Horton, Nick Tupara, Ruth Greencole, Faith McManus, Julia Barber, Jude Gordon, Leigh Tawharu, Tania Lewis-Rickard, Te Rautini Sheridan