Pātaka Museum (27 February – 20 June 2004)
Rotorua Museum of Art and History (27 August – 28 November 2004)
Later that year, The Eternal Thread moved to Rotorua Museum of Art and History where various weaving demonstrations, workshops, and talks took place throughout the exhibition’s opening week.
Auckland War Memorial Museum (24 February – 15 April 2005)
Staged at the Auckland War Memorial Museum, The Eternal Thread contributed to the 2005 Auckland Arts Festival (AK05) and complemented two other exhibitions: Tā Moko: A History of the Skin, which explored the history and modern practice of tā moko and its role in defining Māori identity, and Honouring Words, which brought together acclaimed indigenous writers from Canada, Australia, and Aotearoa to celebrate the international development of indigenous writing.
On 9 March 2005, Prince Charles visited The Eternal Thread whilst on a brief tour in Aotearoa. As he browsed the exhibition and witnessed the live weaving demonstrations, he wore a korowai woven by Te Aue Davis.
Yerba Buena Centre for the Arts, San Francisco (5 – 14 August 2005)
The Eternal Thread launched in the United States of America at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Centre for the Arts, and was the beating heart of the hugely successful Māori Art Meets America event. A joint venture between Toi Māori Aotearoa and Tourism New Zealand, Māori Art Meets America was an expansive expression of toi Māori which sought to provide American audiences with unique insights into and experiences of Māori culture as well as strengthen bonds with the Ohlone people forged two decades earlier through the Te Māori exhibition.
This event was launched by the Mayor of San Francisco, Gavin Newson, proclaiming the 4 August of 2005 as ‘Toi Māori: The Eternal Thread Day’. Over the following ten days, an audience of more than 26,000 visitors witnessed waka demonstrations, kapa haka performances, and the interactive Toi Māori: Art from the Māori People of New Zealand exhibition.
The Eternal Thread was one of the three collections brought together in the Toi Māori exhibition. Conceived, developed and produced by Darcy Nicholas and Helen Kedgley of Pātaka Museum, Toi Māori also featured a photographic display of tā moko, a showcase of contemporary ceramics, jewellery, and carvings, and daily demonstrations by renowned weavers, tā moko artists, and carvers to comprise the largest presentation of Māori art in the United States of America since Te Māori.
Hallie Ford Museum of Art (25 September – 22 December 2005)
The Eternal Thread moved to the Hallie Ford Museum of Art in Salem, Oregon, where the Māori artists delegation was hosted by the Siletz Tribe of the Confederated Tribe of the Grand Ronde. For the opening ceremony, the Māori weavers demonstrated their art form, engaged in panel discussions about the role of whānau in learning to weave and the challenges of accessing natural weaving resources, and had the opportunity to engage with Siletz elders who visited the exhibition.
This staging was also commemorated with a performance of Te Aho Mutunga Kore, a waiata written by Derek Lardelli for The Eternal Thread and composed by Rim D. Paul, by the Willamette University Choir.
Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture (3 February – 29 May 2006)
A team of Māori weavers, carvers, and tā moko artists travelled from Aotearoa to support The Eternal Thread at Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture in Seattle, Washington, and present art form demonstrations, workshops, and lectures. They were warmly welcomed by the Tulalip, Squamish, and Muckleshoot Tribes, who invited the team to their lands and gifted them with many taonga throughout their stay.
Museum at Warm Springs (17 June – 5 September 2006)
The Eternal Thread then travelled to the Museum at Warm Springs for the final presentation of the North American Tour. Whilst in Oregon demonstrating their weaving, the visiting Māori artists performed Joe Harawira’s arrangement of Te Aho Mutunga Kore and engaged in cultural exchanges with the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.
Together, they shared foods, languages, art, and stories, and celebrated the Pi-Ume-Sha pow-wow, which annually commemorates the resilient cultural heritage of the Warm Springs, Wasco, and Paiute Native American Tribes. The team from Aotearoa also travelled to Portland College of Art and Craft to spend the day with students from many different Native American and Alaskan Tribes. Here, they led workshops on poi making and preparing muka, shared their art pieces and the stories behind them, and performed waiata, poi, and pūrerehua.
“The people have shared the same grievances we share, but they have hope in their hearts. Our roopu shared the strengths and hopes through our weaving skills, which weaves together the past, present, and future.”
(Noelene Ngawaka-Forster)
By this point, it was estimated that the tour had reached audiences of over 90,000 people, as well as attracting widespread media coverage. The continuing tour of The Eternal Thread after the Māori Art Meets America event symbolised the enduring formation of relationships and continual sharing of knowledge. A thread was cast out across the Pacific with Māori Art Meets America that continues to be woven and nurtured.
The Homecoming of Eternal Thread
Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū
(16 February – 27 May 2007)
The Eternal Thread was welcomed back to Aotearoa at Christchurch Art Gallery and is estimated to have attracted a crowd of 85,000 visitors. The success of the exhibition was due in part to the extensive public programme developed by Rānui Ngārimu, and the ongoing collaboration between Māori and First Nations artists brought visitors from California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and Alaska to Christchurch for the occasion.
A small but moving poroporoaki lead by Rakihia Tau (Ngāi Tahu) was held on 27 May 2007 to close the intrepid journey of The Eternal Thread, but the exhibition will long be remembered for the impressive showcase of Māori creativity, recognition of wāhine Māori and Māori weaving, and relationships forged with Native American artist communities.
Written by Lily Kara-Liu (Waikato-Tainui, Ngāpuhi). 07 Feb 2023.