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TOITŪ: Visual Sovereignty
This compelling documentary goes behind the scenes of Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art, tracing curator Nigel Borell’s bold vision for the largest Māori art exhibition in Aotearoa while revealing the tensions that erupt when Māori artistic sovereignty pushes against institutional power.
Director
Chelsea Winstanley
CAST
With – Nigel Borell • Taika Waititi • Shane Cotton • Mataaho Collective
RATING
VA
RUNTIME
1h 41m
COUNTRY
Aotearoa/NZ
GENRE
Documentary, Art, Māori, Culture
LANGUAGE
English, Te Reo Māori
WATCH TRAILER
FILM NOTES
A powerful, behind-the-scenes portrait of M āori art, authority and the quiet strength of walking away.
Filmed over years inside Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, TOITŪ: Visual Sovereignty follows curator Nigel Borell as he assembles Toi Tū Toi Ora, a ground‑shifting survey of contemporary Māori art. The camera captures the sheer scale of the kaupapa—over a hundred artists, hundreds of works—and the intimate relationships between curator, artists and the Māori advisory group as they shape a new visual whakapapa for the gallery’s walls.
As deadlines loom and pressure mounts, the exhibition’s success throws deeper fault lines into relief: who gets to author Māori art, and how far can sovereignty extend inside colonial institutions. Winstanley’s film moves from bustling install days to tense hui and, ultimately, to a global stage, framing the journey as both art-world drama and a testament to endurance, integrity and collective resilience. It’s essential viewing for anyone interested in Māori art, museum politics, or the stories that sit just beyond the labels on the wall.
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BOOK SEATS FOR
TOITŪ: Visual Sovereignty
TOITUVIS-0727-1630
Mon 27 Jul 4:30pm ncp
...
All tickets must be prepaid online or at the counter.
Sales are subject to our cancellation policy. No phone bookings
ncp - no complimentary passes
cap - captioned for hard of hearing