Wāhine Exhibition

Kia ora Whakatū!

After touring Te Waipounamu, the South Island, the Wāhine exhibition is coming back to Nelson with 4 additional wāhine portraits from down south! Come and listen to these new stories alongside our inaugural 4 portraits.

Wāhine is a touring multi-media exhibition that amplifies Māori women’s voices around Aotearoa, offering our communities the opportunity to be enriched by their life stories while fostering mutual understanding.

Before continuing its journey to the North Island, the exhibition is stopping where it was born, here in Whakatū Nelson!

If you would rather experience the exhibition contactless, bring your smartphone and a pair of headphones. Otherwise, you are welcome to access the audio stories using our audioguides and provided headphones.

Through personalised sound stories and portrait photography, Wāhine is an immersive exhibition inviting communities to come together, be inspired, and learn from the raw, honest, and vulnerable stories of Māori women.

The stories touch on their joys and inspirations, their troubles and tribulations, and the resilience that has moulded them into the women they are. The powerful words of each interview are woven together with real-life recordings captured by the women themselves and exhibited alongside a photography portrait of each wahine.

While it travels around Aotearoa, Wāhine expands each time it changes locations by inviting a wahine from a local iwi to join the kaupapa and hold space for the other women.

By holding a sacred space for women to share their experiences, our hope is to inspire compassion in us all and ignite a wider sense of belonging, community, and togetherness.

Follow our journey on www.thewovenwomen.org or on social media @thewovenwomen

The Refinery Artspace COVID-19 Policy:
In order to continue to operate in a safe and controlled environment, entry will require verification of My Vaccine Pass (from 3 December).

Masks are mandatory (unless exempt).

We understand that this may impact on some people's ability to visit the gallery and events however our priority is to protect our community, our staff and volunteers. We appreciate your kindness, support, and understanding during a difficult time for everyone. We will continue in our efforts to keep the arts alive in Te Tau Ihu. We look forward to seeing you soon.