Manalagi Residency Weekend: Painting on Tapa with Whenua Pigments

Artist Rosalie Koko will guide workshop participants through the experience of painting onto tapa with whenua pigments.

Creative Station 1

People can contribute to a collaborative tapa work with the kaupapa of celebrating the beauty of our takatāpui and MVPFAFF+ communities.

Creative station 2

Members of the public can also learn to paint with whenua pigments onto tapa, creating their own wearable tapa badge to take home, continuing the practice of gifting and wearing tapa which was common across our Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa. 

Tapa Demonstration by Rosie Koko

Artist Rosie Koko will also be demonstrating how to make tapa on the day. 

Tapa is a traditional textile practice made out of barkcloth, also known as Siapo, Ngatu, Hiapo, Masi, Uha and Aute throughout Moana Nui. Making practices of barkcloth also originate from parts of Africa and Asia. 

Rosalie Koko is an artist who has whakapapa from Ngāti Kahungunu ki Heretaunga and Olosega in American Sāmoa. She graduated from Toioho ki Āpiti, Māori Visual Arts programme at Massey in 2023. She has exhibited with many different media, and in recent years she has been learning to beat and paint tapa.

The Manalagi Project is a research project that aims to better understand the health, wellbeing and general experiences of Pacific Rainbow+ MVPFAFF+ communities in Aotearoa New Zealand. The Manalagi Project has come together with Te Papa to continue to share and understand the experiences of our communities; this time through the sharing of taonga and stories.