Kaetaeta Watson and Louisa Humphry, MNZM. Courtesy of photographer Sonya Nagels and Hui Te Ananui A Tangaroa, New Zealand Maritime Museum, 2023.
Photo Credit
This exhibition honours the significance of tibuta, Kiribati’s national tops, worn by women as markers of identity and pride.
Kaetaeta Watson and Louisa Humphry, MNZM, wear their tibuta proudly because it strongly identifies who they are as I-Kiribati in Aotearoa. Their research in 2021 revealed a lack of resources into tibuta by I-Kiribati, for I-Kiribati. There was also very little information found within museum institutions around the world.
The exhibition is an attempt to fill this gap by honouring and celebrating the history of tibuta, as remembered, known and told by I-Kiribati diaspora communities from Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, Pārāwai Thames, Waikato, Whiritoa, Tauranga, Porirua and from their beloved homeland of Kiribati.
This exhibition honours the significance of tibuta, Kiribati’s national tops, worn by women as markers of identity and pride.
Kaetaeta Watson and Louisa Humphry, MNZM, wear their tibuta proudly because it strongly identifies who they are as I-Kiribati in Aotearoa. Their research in 2021 revealed a lack of resources into tibuta by I-Kiribati, for I-Kiribati. There was also very little information found within museum institutions around the world.
The exhibition is an attempt to fill this gap by honouring and celebrating the history of tibuta, as remembered, known and told by I-Kiribati diaspora communities from Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, Pārāwai Thames, Waikato, Whiritoa, Tauranga, Porirua and from their beloved homeland of Kiribati.
