Toitū te Tiriti, Toitū te Kupu is an exhibition of creative works by Te Reo Ōhine, kaimahi wāhine Māori from the University of Canterbury as well as our pou tautoko. The title is a response to our current political landscape.  The themes of the works include tuakiritanga (identity), whakapapa, mana motuhake, Māori language revitalisation, whānau and adoption.

E rere te mihi mutunga kore ki ngā pou, ngā māreikura nō Kāi Tahu kua kaha tautoko i a mātou mō tēnei kaupapa. Taonga pūoro musician, author, and music therapist Dr Ruby Mae Hinepuni Solly (Kāi Tahu - Waihao, Kāti Mamoe, Waitaha) and Māori language exponent, composer and writer Karuna Thurlow (Kāi Tahu, Ngāti Mamoe, Waitaha, Ngāti Porou) - were instrumental in supporting and guiding the wāhine cohort of writers. Ngā mihi aroha ki a rāua.

The collective group of wāhine writers met over two day-long wānanga to create, think, write and reflect in both a Māori immersion setting and reo rua (bilingual) setting. Me mihi ka tika ki Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury kua tautoko mai i a mātou. Thank you to the University of Canterbury and the Child Wellbeing Research Institute who funded the writing wānanga and the exhibition of the creative works.

The UC wāhine writers were encouraged by Karuna and Ruby to get out of the 'academic-writing' box, to think from a te ao Māori perspective and to write from the heart in te reo Māori, English or a mixture of both reo. Ruby and Karuna's aroha and wisdom allowed a space to think freely, to heal and to just 'be'.

Ngā mihi aroha mutunga kore ki ngā whānau katoa o ngā kaituhi.

Ko te mihi whakamutunga ki a Ngaio Cowell rāua ko Juanita Hepi o Te Whare Tapere. Ki ngā māreikura auaha, ngā mihi mutunga kore i ō kōrua āwhina mai, me te tūwheratanga o tō koutou whare mā mātou. What an honour and privilege it was to display our works in your whare. Thank you for your guidance, manaakitanga, and allowing a physical space to share a piece of us.

Nā Kay-Lee, Annabel, Rahera, Maraea, Marie, Makayla, Jody & Lisa.