Kia Manahua Te Wāwāhi Tahā

Kia Manahua Te Wāwāhi Tahā is a group exhibition from the whānau collective initiated by Emiko Sheehan. It explores the unique creative processes at the intersection of art-making and motherhood. The name draws from the whakataukī Tā te tamariki tana mahi wāwāhi tahā, honouring tamariki as taonga who disrupt and inspire. 

This exhibition is supported by Auckland Arts Festival 2026.

Image: Māmā Taniwha (2023) Emiko Sheeran

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About the artists

Ngāpuhi and Te Rarawa descendant and self‑described ‘hau tutu’, Lucia Hemara is a multidisciplinary artist raised and based in Te Whau, Tāmaki Makaurau. Working across painting, portraiture, pastel, and photography, she is also beginning to weave her way into Toi Māori practices such as rāranga and whakairo. As a mother of two, her work draws on the mana of wāhine and the strength of whakapapa, tracing the rhythms of whānau life and the intergenerational memories that bind past, present, and future.

Tiana King (Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa, Ngāti Kahungunu ki te Wairoa, Ngāti Wai) is a mother of two and a multidisciplinary artist who grew up immersed in kapa haka and speaking te reo Māori through Kōhanga Reo. She emphasises that dance, haka, creating kākahu, video, and raising tamariki is art. Tiana enjoys exploration through te taiao, with te ao Māori as the foundation, guided by intuition and whatumanawa. Before having tamariki, her background was in dance. However, through all the shifts of motherhood, those roots have expanded into other disciplines. The ups and downs, journeying from te pō into te ao mārama, have allowed Tiana to raise her tamariki while exploring these taonga — which now includes creating contemporary kākahu and dance. She encourages her children to be a part of the process, giving them the space and confidence to explore their own inner artists too. Tiana now wears many hats — being a mother, first and foremost; an artist; and a business owner who delivers dance workshops and is moving into creating her own kākahu collection. Returning to the inner child is pivotal to recreate oneself and birth the return into the knowing; a gift that our tamariki activate and remind us of that power. Tiana reiterates ‘we must keep feeding the mauri well within us.’

Biddy Livesey (Pākehā) is a researcher, policy advisor, planner, artist and writer. Born in Whangārei and raised in Pōneke, she lives in Tāmaki Makaurau with her partner Jym and two children - Awanui (5) and Amokura (1). Recent projects include CineClub (with Ana Yamila Palatnik, 2024) Maanjiwe Nendamowinan: Connecting Indigenous Placemakers (with Jym Clark, Nicole Latulippe, Cathy Jamieson, Desna Whaanga-Schollum and Becky Kiddle, 2019), and There are remnants of small fires on the ping-pong table in the park (with Dieneke Jansen, 2013). From 2005 - 2015, she was one half of the performance art duo Raised By Wolves, and exhibited in a range of galleries and festivals in New Zealand, Australia, and the Netherlands. She has held artist residencies in Melbourne (2007) and Rotterdam (2011).

Ash Mosen. Mother, textile artist and fashion designer, Ash utilises second hand garments, silk offcuts and antique linens to create pieces and textures evoking a nod towards historical tailoring, utility and folly.

Harriet Reihana (Ngāpuhi) is a mixed media artist and illustrator born and raised in Tāmaki Makaurau. 
Working primarily in watercolour and gouache, she creates small-scale paintings inspired by flora and fauna native to Aotearoa. 
Harriet’s practice explores themes of connection to self and her Māori whakapapa through te taiao and the whenua. 
As a māmā and kaiako, her work continues to evolve within a tamariki-centred world, shaped by playfulness and curiosity.

Trixi Rosa is an artist and māmā raised in Punakaiki, Te Wai Pounamu. Her mahi weaves ritual and writing into immersive installation, poetry and performance that navigates questions of identity, intimacy, and place. Trixi lives with her whānau in Te Wao Nui a Tiriwa and works on community development and arts engagement projects with various local community organisations.

Emiko Sheehan (Japanese, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Kahu Ngāti Unu, Waikato Tainui, Raukawa, Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Mutunga) is a multidisciplinary artist who has worked across drawing, writing, video, printmaking, Harakeke, installation and performance. Emiko’s works often explore themes of identity and indigeneity from both her Japanese and Māori whakapapa. Recently she has been exploring the intimacies of muka, and reflecting on Te Pā Harakeke as an extension of her own whānau. Emiko sees Harakeke as whakapapa, which she is handing down to her pēpi, as her mother handed it to her. Over the past couple of years Emiko has been exploring whakapapa as a resource and education base to frame her works and reframe her understanding of time, seeing this as an act of resistance to Western constructs of time and a reclamation of her indigeneity. @emiko_waitapu

Coralie Takuira (Te Rarawa, Ngāpuhi) is a multidisciplinary artist, working across painting, printmaking, and taonga puoro. Her practice is guided by mātauranga tūpuna, whakapapa, and the reciprocal kaitiakitanga of the natural world. Process is as important as the work itself; researching traditional practices, the growing and gathering of materials, and sitting with the image that is later adorned. Coralie’s practice furthers the reindigenisation of her and her whānau’s world as these slow and intentional acts resist hyperconsumerism and nurtures the return of living in good relation with the world.

Anjelica Tova (Fijian, Chinese) is a multidisciplinary artist and holistic wellbeing coach. Through movement, song, poetry, and play, she explores remembering, regeneration, and storytelling rooted in aroha, mana and empowerment. Her work celebrates creativity, community, and cultural identity, inspired by motherhood, te taiao and ancestral wisdom.

Hana Tuwhare (Ngāpuhi) is a speech-language therapist, weaver and writer. Her weaving practice focuses on re-connecting to whakapapa, strengthening familial ties, growing te reo Māori, and building a relationship with seasonal patterns and the taiao. 
Hana acknowledges the links between language, culture, creativity and identity and recognises the ability of whānau to navigate their own mātauranga to support young tamariki to thrive. 
Hana was selected as one of Nuku's "100 kickass indigenous women doing things differently" @hana.tuwhare

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Opening Preview
Friday 27 February, 6-8pm

Walk-shop with Biddy Livesey
Saturday 21 March, 10.30am-12.30pm

Drop-in Whānau Play Session with Trixi Rosa
Saturday 28 March, 1-2pm

Whiria te Whānau with Hana Tuwhare and Lucia Hemara
Saturday 11 April, 10am-1pm