Mahina

The Team from Alexander Turnbull Library

Date: Friday, 20 - 28 September, 2019
Time: 9:00am to 5:00pm
Cost: Free.

Location: Te Puna Foundation Gallery, (ground floor), National Library, corner Molesworth and Aitken Streets, Thorndon

Celebrating the signing of the Suffrage Petition
Come and see our pop-up exhibition of posters, designed by students of Wellington’s Youbee School of Design as part of the National Library’s inaugural Tapu Festival, the first season of which is Mahina

The festival marks the anniversary of the signing of the Suffrage Petition, which is housed in the He Tohu exhibition at the Library. The Petition represents the hopes and dreams of New Zealand women who campaigned vigorously for the right to vote and to have a voice in our Nation’s future.

Acknowledging the women who campaigned for the right to vote.
Tapu is a way for us to acknowledge these women, the progress we have made and highlight those issues where progress is still needed.

Tapu is sacred and Mahina is the moon. For this first festival we have focused on Te Awa Atua — the menstrual cycle as means of highlighting issues related to — body image, body identity, menstruation and menopause — and why there is still shame and confusion around them.

Student's brief and inspiration for posters
The students have responded to this brief and to some keywords provided for inspiration: Divine, mystery, sacred, curious, discovery, power, celebration, beauty, shame, proud, uplifting, joyful, knowledge…

Mahina also features a new work by artist Robyn Kahukiwa, commissioned to complement the student’s contribution to the Tapu Festival.