TUKUA is a new limited-series podcast that brings together three generations of artists: academic, writer, and activist Ngahuia Te Awekotuku, sculptor Brett Graham, and comedian Kura Turuwhenua. Together, they'll be attending openings, shows, and events, hearing from the people involved, and offering reflections of their own.
In the first episode of arts and culture podcast Tukua, the team travels to Te Matatini and discuss the winners, the should-have-been winners, what 'cultural authenticity' looks like and the role of gender in kapa haka. It's a way of exploring the deep connection between teo ao Māori and performance because as Ngahuia puts it "Māori are the original show-offs" Along the way, we hear from Kereama Wright from the winning Ngāti Whakaue rōpū, Wharehoka Wano, a representative for Te Kāhui Maunga Iwi Society and Pere Wihongi, "kaitātaki tāne" for Angitū.
This is one of three new podcasts supported through the Arts and Culture Podcast Co-Fund 2024, a co-investment partnership between Creative New Zealand, NZ On Air and RNZ.
Pictured: Ngahuia Te Awekotuku, Brett Graham, and Kura Turuwhenua