Ngaruawahia Festival Of The Arts

Te Ao Hou, March 1964, Page 28

Ngaruawahia Festival Of The Arts by Ans Westra Mr Charles Ingram, chairman of the committee which organised the Festival of the Arts. Artists Theo Schoon and Para Matchitt discuss Theo's decorated gourds. The poet Hone Tuwhare reads some of his own work in Mahinarangi. The first Maori Festival of the Arts ever to be held took place last December at Ngaruawahia, in the historic setting of Mahinarangi meeting-house at Turangawaewae marae. Organized in conjunction with the centennial celebrations at Ngaruawahia, it

Photography by Ans Westra The Ngaruawahia Civic Choir, conducted by Charles Ingram, sang hymns during a combined Pakeha-Maori church service held at Turangawaewae during the Festival. had the full support of King Koroki. Mahinarangi, with its elaborate carvings and its many mementos and reminders of past history, made a striking background for an exhibition of contemporary art which included work by the sculptors Arnold Wilson and Para Matchitt and the painter Selwyn Muru, who are among the most promising younger artists working in New Zealand today. There was also a most interesting exhibition of gourds by the artist Theo Schoon, the only Pakeha artist invited to exhibit work. Mr Schoon, who for many years has made an exhaustive study of Maori art, being especially well known for his copies of rock shelter paintings and for his more recent interest in the cultivation and decoration of Maori gourds (pu-te-hue), also gave a memorable lecture on these subjects. Another exhibition, featuring original paintings by Goldie and Lindauer and early prints of the Waikato, both contrasted with and complemented the modern work exhibited.