Guided by haka expert Michael Steedman, Föenander Galleries presents a unique cultural culmination this December, opening on Friday 5th December. Aptly named Haka, this collaborative exhibition examines the role of our national expression through diverse sculptural practice. The traditional Māori war dance — instantly recognisable but often misunderstood — first reached international audiences in 1888, when the New Zealand Native Rugby Team performed ‘Ka Mate’ on tour in Britain. Despite mixed reactions, the haka became an enduring symbol of New Zealand’s cultural and sporting pride, a sacred dichotomy that has been closely examined ever since.

Föenander Galleries’ Haka exhibition will feature works by Chris Bailey, Israel Tangaroa Birch, Anton Forde, Robert Jahnke, Shiree Reihana and Dorothy Waetford. Each acclaimed New Zealand artist explores the haka from their perspective, drawing on ancestral tradition, the natural world, and the preservation of Māori history. This collaborative effort marks a poignant moment in our culture and opens an essential dialogue that should not be overlooked.

Endeavouring to answer the question ‘what is haka?’, each piece is anchored in the war dance, from the physical representation in Chris Bailey’s Kaitiaki sculpture, to Robert Jahnke’s A Matter of Principle ii, which uses iconography, light and reflection to explore Eurocentric educational narratives in New Zealand’s history. One only needs to look at the response to Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke’s haka as protest in parliament late last year to see that the haka remains greatly misunderstood. Through this exhibition, each piece aims to investigate this performance that holds such a key facet of New Zealand culture and the way it intermingles with Aotearoa in the present day.

It’s a fitting closure to a year where the Waitangi Treaty Principles Bill dominated much of the political discourse, redefining how we interact with Māori culture as a country. Through analysing this dance that is so key to Aotearoa — both through its time on the world stage at All Blacks games and through its inherent connection to the identity of Māori — these pieces of art attempt to explore the depth of the haka; past, present and future.

Exhibition dates: Friday 5th December — Wednesday 24th December

foenandergalleries.co.nz/haka