Two Solos
Ema Tavola | Visual Art
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Boosted X Moana
Is matching up to $3,000
Overview
The collaboration between artist and curator is in its purest form in the development of solo shows. I've had the absolute privilege of holding space for numerous solo exhibitions in my career and it is such a joy to see ideas grow and develop, and artists lean in to working in bold and experimental ways.
This project involves working with two South Auckland-based visual artists: Genevieve Pini and Niu Lemalu, to develop solo exhibition projects for Vunilagi Vou in 2023. The process will involve talanoa, critique, skill sharing, making and experimenting with hands-on, ongoing support, mentoring and guidance. Developing solo projects with fellow indigenous Moana artists supports a practice-based research framework for indigenous curating. It is people-centred, privileging the time-space for talanoa, and draws on what the artist brings to the table holistically: artistically, ancestrally and spiritually, socially and politically.
The development phase embeds the artist in a community of practice, enabling them to visualise their voice and their work in a context of Moana makers, thinkers, change-making and leadership. This process involves meetings with other artists, studio and gallery visits, talanoa and breaking bread. This project will fund Vunilagi Vou to hold space for the development of both solo projects, and both artists. The project budget supports artist fees, material costs, exhibition and presentation costs, a contribution to Vunilagi Vou overheads, and any collaborations with other creatives.
The investment will enable two artists to realise solo projects from development to presentation in an environment that is culturally safe, supported and unrestricted from institutional agendas. Throughout the process, Vunilagi Vou will provide a platform to share insights to the artists and their ideas, building a public profile that supports the potential of a solo exhibition to springboard an artist into wider opportunities and career trajectories.
Come along for the ride!
Project Updates
The challenge of a project about potential
#TwoSolos is not a conventional crowdfunding campaign: the exhibitions themselves have not yet been formed, so the project itself isn't filled with detail, something the artists themselves confirmed in our pitch video.
Instead, this project ask is about investing in the potential of two artists. Potential that has been observed, tapped and documented by me, Ema Tavola, over the past two decades. It is this track record, and this depth of understanding the ways in which they work, that gives me a total faith in what they can and will produce given the opportunity. I wrote a bit about it here.
For those who aren't familiar with my practice, this campaign is probably asking you to have a lot of faith in me! I am curator who cut my teeth making grassroots exhibition programming for the gallery, Fresh Gallery Ōtara from 2006-2012; I made 66 shows there before I resigned to pursue freelance work. Before opening Vunilagi Vou in 2019, I was producing longer-term research-based projects including the first Veiqia Project exhibition for ST PAUL St Gallery in 2016 (co-curated by Dr Tarisi Vunidilo), Dravuni: Sivia yani na Vunilagi - Beyond the Horizon for the New Zealand Maritime Museum also in 2016 (co-curated with my father, Kaliopate Tavola), and A Maternal Lens for the 4th Biennale of Casablanca, Morocco in 2018. Curating Moana Pacific art has been the backbone of my career; I love making shows, and I love working with artists who have something important to say.
Approaching the end of our campaign's first week, I'm starting to share more insights across social media channels (Twitter and Instagram) about the act of curating solo shows, the bigger picture of what South Auckland contributes to the culture of Pacific arts in Aotearoa and how donations to this campaign contribute to not only the two artists - Niu Lemalu and Genevieve Pini - but to Vunilagi Vou and the movement we've been driving since we first opened doors in 2019.
This weekend, curator Nigel Borell MNZM shared some choice words in support of this kaupapa, and Vunilagi Vou's mission. Check it out below...
Thank you so much to those who have donated, shared and helped amplify this campaign and kaupapa - much appreciated. We still have a big mountain to climb, so every click and share, every dollar, every little endorsement helps tremendously - thank you so much for every bit of support!
Project Owner
Ema Tavola
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