Supporting indigenous artists across the Western Bay of Plenty will be the focus of two creative arts workshops over the next month.

Creative Bay of Plenty and Te Tuhi Mareikura Trust – TMT – have teamed up to develop two Saturday afternoon gatherings titled ‘Creative Wānanga: Kanohi ki te Kanohi' where indigenous artists can share ideas, explore art platforms and be inspired by new big ideas.

'Join us as we share an amazing 2021 of creative opportunities and nurture new seeds of creative possibility,” says a Te Tuhi Mareikura Trust spokesperson.

Conceived in 2015 and spearheaded by leading Māori artists of the Mataatua region, TMT is passionately dedicated to bringing audiences and artists together to experience, explore and develop the unique art legacy of the Tauranga Moana region.

Special guests at the Creative Wānanga gatherings will present an overview of light art installations and digital technology and reveal plans to establish a major new Light Art Festival in the Bay of Plenty during Matariki 2021.

The workshops on Saturday, January 23, and Saturday, February 20, will include presentations by Eric Holowacz of Creative Bay of Plenty and Julie Paama-Pengelly of Te Tuhi Mareikura Trust, and feature curator Rachael Rakena from Mana Moana and Robert Appierdo from Storybox.

Mana Moana is a curated artist-led collaboration between Māori and Pacifica visual artists, musicians, writers and choreographers to produce short art films that are screened on a 30m water screen.

Established in 2010, Storybox is an award-winning boutique creative studio that specialises in finding innovative ways to use storytelling to engage people. Their work includes projection mapping Te Papa, immersive apps, illuminated shipping containers and community stories transformed into digital experiences.

Both workshops run from 12.30pm – 6.30pm, with the first workshop on Saturday, January 23, to be held at the Tahuwhakatiki Marae in Welcome Bay, and the second workshop on Saturday, February 20, to be held at the Whareroa Marae, 25 Taiaho Place at Mount Maunganui.

To register for the workshops, go to:www.tetuhimareikura.org/kanohi