Waka Tūpuna explores how relationships are established, maintained, nurtured and remembered through whakapapa.

Waka Tūpuna are Kāi Tahu’s voyaging ancestors, those who travelled by waka to land on the shores of Te Waipounamu and form relationships as whānau and whānauka which are the foundation of Kāi Tahu identity today. These tūpuna and their narratives establish an important connection between the ancestral past and present, helping us understand the events that have shaped the physical environment of Te Waipounamu and its human histories.

By drawing on places, taoka and narratives which centre human connection, the artists in Waka Tūpunaengage with these whakapapa relationships by looking closely at the many ways tūpuna are present in the world around us.