Various Artists with Sofia & Maya

Photosynthesisers: Women and lens is an exhibition currently showing at Te Uru Waitakere Contemporary Gallery, curated by James Gatt.

The exhibition features photographs and videos by 41 women artists and collectives from Aotearoa and Australia, including fa`afafine, queer, and trans women, and those with ancestral ties to Aboriginal, Māori and diasporic communities.

Produced between the 1960s and 2024 by four generations of artists, exhibited works collectively offer cross-cultural and intergenerational perspectives on the social, political and cultural conditions that informed, prompted or necessitated their capture.

Beth caught up with James about Photosynthesisers.

Today on Various Artists!

Sofia had a kōrero with author and biographer Mark Forman about Tony Fomison: Life of the Artist, available now at independent bookstores near you.

Beth had a kōrero with activist and Indigenous food sovereignty leader Jessica Hutchings about Pātaka Kai: Kai Sovereignty, a new book out now via Massey University Press.

Sofia also spoke with host Graeme Douglas about The Good Oil - a podcast dedicated to long form conversations with Aotearoa painters about their lives and practices.

And for Stage Direction this week, playwright and performer John Davies joined us in-studio to speak about Te Tupua: The Goblin, showing tonight at Te Pou Theatre.

In a career spanning three decades, Tony Fomison was a notable New Zealand painter, whose works were often dark, and who shed light on the human condition and reimagined life in Aotearoa.

Tony Fomison: Life of the Artist is a new biography written by Mark Forman, published by Auckland University Press. In this biography - the first full one of its kind to be published - Forman draws on archival material and interviews with over 150 people, including Fomison’s family and close friends, leading contemporary artists, political activists, and art professionals. However, notably, due to the varying recollections of those who knew the artist, Forman had to leave reproductions of Fomison's unique paintings out of the book. 

Sofia spoke to Forman about what made him embark on this research, Fomison himself, and navigating representation of him. 

Wikipedia is one of the world’s most accessed sources of information, however, many local histories, marginalised communities, and diverse voices remain underrepresented. 

By contributing to Wikipedia, Auckland Museum’s Wikimedian in Residence, Anjuli Sel-va-durai, aims to democratise access to knowledge and ensure more accurate, balanced and inclusive narratives about Tāmaki Makaurau and Aotearoa, making important histories more visible and accessible to all. 

Sofia spoke to Anjuli about her role and the importance of contributing to Wikipedia. 

The Wiki 101 Edit-a-thon is on tomorrow, Saturday 15th March, at Auckland Museum in the Research Library on Level 2 from 10am-2pm.