South Auckland’s Taro Patch Creative continues to redefine community-led Pacific arts with a powerful new exhibition, Tākanga ‘emau fohe, that featured four of Tonga’s most respected contemporary artists that showcased last night.
Presented in Taro Patch’s Pulotu space, the exhibition is the culmination of a 10-day residency with members of the Selekā International Art Society Initiative (SIASI,) a Tongan artist collective known for pushing boundaries across painting, mixed media, and politically charged visual storytelling.
Artists Tēvita Mameivai Lātū, Aho Yasmin, Taniela Petelo, and Alokoulu Ulukivaiola have deep roots in Tonga’s art movement and expansive global reach, with work exhibited in major institutions throughout the Pacific and internationally. Their practices; bold, layered, and unapologetically Tongan, are grounded in satire, resistance, and community.
“Traveling to other Pacific nations feeds our creative spirit. Collaborating with our Pacific brothers and sisters, like at Taro Patch, rejuvenates us. It feels like home but stretches and challenges us to create new work with new artists and learn new perspectives and layered styles, a place where our stories intertwine, and our collective creativity thrives.” Tēvita Lātū, founder of Selekā International Art Society Initiative.
During their time in Papatoetoe, the artists created new works alongside local artists and youth, and participated in a full schedule of cultural exchange and talanoa with Flat Bush Primary School, the Center for Arts and Social Transformation at The University of Auckland, and Pacific artists. The resulting exhibition includes original work developed during the residency, as well as pieces by Tongan school children who took part in Selekā-led workshops back home.
“This is the kind of work Taro Patch Creative is built to hold,” says Director Vea Mafile’o. “It’s not just an exhibition — it’s a living collaboration, a convergence of artists, histories, and community. Selekā’s work is unapologetically Tongan, and unapologetically international. To bring them here, to create together in our space, is an honour.”
Tākanga ‘emau fohe is part of Te Pito, Taro Patch Creative’s multi-strand project that champions artistic collaboration across Aotearoa and the Pacific. Rooted in South Auckland, Te Pito is driven by the belief: “Towards a Moana collaborative project between different artists that allows for collective art-making by all who encounter it.”
