Te Wai Ngutu Kākā Gallery is the new name of Auckland University of Technology’s art gallery.

Established in 2004 and formerly known as ST PAUL St Gallery, the name was gifted at a dawn ceremony led by Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei on 23 August 2023.

Referring to the flower of the kākābeak/ngutu kākā (Clianthus), which is a tohu or sign of seasonal change, the plant’s name references the ngutu (beak) of the endemic kākā parrot (Nestor meridionalis) that its flowers resemble. Ngutu kākā plants are believed to have flourished in the area where the gallery now sits, around Waihorotiu Stream, which once ran freely down what we now call Queen Street and into the Waitematā Harbour, says AUT Associate Professor Natalie Robertson (Ngāti Porou, Clann Dhònnchaidh).

Alongside AUT’s Dr Valance Smith (Ngāpuhi, Waikato, Ngāti Haina, Ngāti Pākehā), former gallery director Charlotte Huddleston and others, Associate Professor Robertson researched and explored the plant’s relation to the area surrounding the gallery and AUT’s marae, Ngā Wai o Horotiu. Wai also serves as a metaphor for wellbeing, sustenance, and health - both physical and meta-physical.

Associate Professor Robertson, Dr Smith and Huddleston write: “The ngutu nākā represents place, the rendezvous - he rākau tau matua he huinga manu - the gathering place of chiefs. The wai asserts its connection to Horotiu - the taniwha protecting the waterways that continue to flow through the network of lava caves located in the area.

“As such, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei kaumātua gifted this name in acknowledgement of the ecology in which all three entities co-exist. The kākā native parrot and other birds are therefore the people that congregate on the rākau tau matua - the main branch.”

Associate Professor Robertson says the name connects deeply with Ngā Wai o Horotiu, and “is aspirational for the kind of place we envisage the gallery being, a place that attracts the multitudes.”

During their time as gallery curator, Cameron Ah Loo brought in design company Haumi to translate the name into the gallery’s new identity. Known for their work as both designers and cultural advisors, the resulting identity by Haumi adapts a ngutu kākā kowhaiwhai as a central component, and features a bespoke font created for the gallery’s new wordmark.

On 21 September at 5pm, Te Wai Ngutu Kākā Galley launches an exhibition in partnership with Haumi. The show draws on the rich concepts that gave rise to the name Te Wai Ngutu Kākā Gallery, while acknowledging the 19-year history of ST PAUL St Gallery. Learn more and plan a visit to the exhibition here.

The gallery’s incumbent manager and curator Stephen Cleland says the exhibition seems a fitting way to both capture the meaningful stories that underlie our new name and to showcase Haumi’s innovative approaches to translating these concepts into our new identity.

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