Art sales will pay for trip
It will be art for art’s sake at an art auction on Thursday, to raise money for Wellington’s regional kapa haka champions, Te Kura Maori O Porirua school.
Two dozen works from Porirua artists will be auctioned to fund Te Kura’s 55-strong delegation to the national kapa haka championships in Whangarei in late July, teacher Hayley Galo says.
Significant artists like Titahi Bay’s Mark Kopua and Pukerua Bay’s Robyn Kahukiwa became involved in the auction due to family links with the school, Mrs Galo says.
‘‘Because we’re a Maori school we have got a lot of support within our kura and within the wider community as well, with costumes and fundraising.’’
The school hopes to raise $5000 to cover the remaining cost of flights to Auckland, buses to Whangarei and accommodation for the week-long event, which starts on July 23. Te Kura will perform on July 26.
The school has already raised that amount by winning performance contracts, for example, welcoming Rugby World Cup
Te Kura Maori O Porirua’s region-beating kapa haka group is auctioning two dozen artworks to fund travel to the national championships in Whangarei next month. At front are Araschan Moeau, 14, Ngahaka Hei Hei, 17 and Te Ata Arthur, 14, with works by Rodrigo Trincado Roa, Lisa Ramanui and David Hakaraia. teams to Wellington last year.
‘‘That was pretty spectacular,’’ Mrs Galo says. ‘‘The highlight was the New Zealand team because they pretty much stopped traffic at the airport.’’
Te Kura qualified for the kapa haka nationals by being crowned Wellington regional champions at Te Rauparaha Arena last July.
The event will be particularly special for year 12 and 13 students, who will not be at the school in two years for the next national meet, Mrs Galo says.
Art auction, Pataka, Thursday, June 14 at 6pm.