Amplifying the voices of the Arts sector in the Wellington region
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The Wellington Regional Art & Cultural Development Trust (Toi o Taraika Arts Wellington) is a charitable trust that provides networking opportunities, communication platforms, advocacy and capability building forums for our membership base. Our members are made up of a number of the Greater Wellington region’s professional arts, culture and heritage organisations, arts service organisations and education institutions.
Image: Litcrawl 2018. Photo: Vanessa Rushton
Toi o Taraika - Arts Wellington
Our name is an acknowledgement of the significant ancestor – Taraika. We recognised his skills as an artist, and as a leader for his people. This name was developed by collaboration with Toi Māori and IDIA.
Taraika (otherwise known as Tara) is the eponymous ancestor who lived in Te Upoko o Te Ika a Maui (The Head of the Fish of Maui – Wellington) and consequently a tribe was named after him called Ngāi Tara. Taraika named the great harbour known as Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington Harbour). His name is also commemorated in the Tararua ranges, ‘Ngā waewae e rua a Tara; The spanned legs of Tara,’ meaning that his descendants had occupied either side of the range.
Image: Kupe, A Waka Odyssey, New Zealand Festival 2018
Photo: Jeff McEwan