Six Tongan artists are on a week-long cultural exchange program, to share and demonstrate their knowledge of Tongan heritage crafts in Auckland and Wellington, New Zealand.

The group led by Lady Tuna Fielakepa, an expert in Tongan heritage and women’s fine arts, left Tonga today, October 18.

In Auckland the group will participate in a free public program of workshops, demonstrations and talks at the Mangere Arts Centre, and at the Auckland War Memorial Museum.

In Wellington they will tour the Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa, and will meet Maori and Pacific artists and exchange cultural knowledge.

"This is an opporuntity for the group to showcase what they do and how they generate income for their families," said Lady Tuna.

“We are very glad to get this opportunity because we will meet other Tongans in New Zealand who buy most of the materials that these ladies are making. ...We are happy to go and show them our appreciation for buying our arts and crafts.”

The New Zealand High Commissioner to Tonga HE Mr Mark Talbot said they supported the Tongan group's visit because of their wealth of artistic experience and heritage. "We are very keen to have that shared with the people of New Zealand," he said.

Artists

The artists represent three genres of Tongan arts – tufunga (material), faiva (performance) and nimamea’a or fine arts.

They include Tamale Tonga Mohenoa, who comes from a long line of master artists specialising in the material art of tufunga lalava or kafa sennit-lashing, Motuliki Fakatava, an established punake specialising in performance arts, and three women, Ane Pongi, Paea Mailau and Teilaiti Lasa, whose craft is in nimamea'a lalanga or the Tongan fine art of weaving.

The visit is funded through Creative New Zealand's Pacific cultural exchange program, but a part of a development program of  Tonga's Handicrafts and Cultural Tourism Support Program, which aims to enhance the sustainability of the livelihood of handicrafts producers. 

The group will return to Tonga on Satuday, October 26.