Originally exhibited at the Pātaka Art + Museum in Porirua earlier this year, the artworks that comprised this exhibition were eventually redistributed to private collections and institutions.

Getting leads on their whereabouts wasn’t exactly difficult (this was especially helped by the generous help of Kara’s art dealer, Laree Payne), but I felt like I had my work cut out for me. the board to navigate a series of requests from lenders that traveled the length of the motu.

The biggest obstacle, it seems, was convincing the private owners of Kara’s works, who may have just gotten used to the idea of ​​finding their beloved works in their homes and homes. lives, to lend their works again for another four-month exhibition. .

Once consent was granted, I then had to plot a route for a road trip to round them up and bring them safely to Heretaunga.

Although many lenders wish to remain anonymous when credited on wall labels, there is often enormous unrecognized generosity in the loan of a private work to a public institution like ours.

Having the work publicly viewed and redistributed in public discourse is undoubtedly beneficial to the artist, the owner, and the gallery, but we as a culture also benefit from the recontextualization of the work by a curator who sees value in what the works have to say. an audience and community in the wider contemporary dialogue of life in Aotearoa.

Bringing this body of work together to form a cohesive whole is only part of the multi-layered process of presenting an exhibition like Kara’s.

Through the logistics, negotiations, and email exchanges of coordinating such a spectacle, it is of daily importance for me to remember that I am not just taking care of things – that I am in a kaitiaki of sorts, managing and caring for the taonga who possess a living, breathing kaupapa who can help us move forward in difficult times.

This is particularly embodied in In Good Relation’s artwork, which shimmers and illuminates with the concept of iraira (to shine) and the energy and mauri (essence) of all things.

In good relationship: Maioha Kara

Whiringa-ā-rangi 23, 2024 – Poutū-te-rangi 29, 2025

November 23, 2024 – March 29, 2025