Join us this month as we celebrate Niue alongside knowledge holder Ioane Aleke Fa'avae, with an opportunity to learn more about Niuean culture through tutala (talks), Tau Maulima (bead wrist bangle) & Foufou (floral head piece) workshops and a live katoua making demonstration. Scroll for details below.
10am - 11.30am & 2pm - 3.30pm | Edmiston Gallery
Join knowledge holder, artist and academic, Ioane Aleke Fa'avae, for a discussion contextualising the katoua (symbol of authority, cleaving weapon) made for the Our Ocean of Islands exhibition.
11.30am - 1pm & 3.30pm - 5pm | Learning Space | Drop-in, no bookings required
Drop in for a hands on workshop and craft a Tau Maulima (bead wrist bangle) with Malamahemoka Ogotau & Malamatama Fotuaga.
11.30am - 1pm & 3.30pm - 5pm | Learning Space | Drop-in, no bookings required
Enjoy a hands on workshop and create a foufou (floral head piece) with Niuean writer & creative, Inangaro Vakaafi.
11.30am - 1pm & 3.30pm - 5pm | Plaza
Witness Ioane Aleke Fa'avae demonstrate the making of a katoua, a symbol of authority and cleaving weapon, live in the museum’s plaza.
Exhibition on now | Free
Our Ocean of Islands is a landmark exhibition bringing together the Indigenous knowledge systems and cultural practices of 24 Moana Oceania island nations. Developed with key knowledge holders from each island nation, the exhibition celebrates diverse Indigenous perspectives and explores the interconnections between peoples, lands, seas, and skies.
Ioane Aleke Fa‘avae is a senior lecturer at the Pacific Centre, Unitec, and a respected Niue tufuga (knowledge holder) dedicated to the preservation, revitalisation, and advancement of Vagahau | Niue language, culture, and traditional knowledge. A passionate educator and cultural advocate, he has devoted much of his career to strengthening Niue identity and promoting Pacific knowledge systems through teaching, research, community leadership, and the arts.
He is Chairperson of the Mutalau Ululauta Matahefonua Trust, Deputy Chairperson of the Pacific Education Foundation, Cultural Advisor to the Vagahau Niue Trust, and a member of the Pacific Dance New Zealand Board, the New Zealand Niue Arts Council, and the Matala he Toumē Researchers Collective. He also contributes nationally as an NZQA curriculum developer for Vagahau Niue NCEA Achievement Standards.
Through his academic, cultural, and community leadership roles, Ioane champions Indigenous knowledge, language revitalisation, and the intergenerational transmission of Niue heritage, empowering Pacific communities in Aotearoa New Zealand and beyond.