After Dark: Kōanga

Celebrate the arrival of spring with a free, adults-only, late-night event. Enjoy live music, workshops, performances, and a cash bar – all in the museum after dark. 

When | Āhea

Fri 18 Oct 2024, 7.00pm–11.00pm

Where | Ki hea

Wellington Foyer, Level 2

Cost | Te utu

Free event

Join us for a late night evening of live music, workshops and performance to celebrate kōanga. Take a flashlight tour of Bush City with Te Papa curators, learn about kōkōwai painting with the HĀ Collective and dance the night away with Mo Etc. 

We will also have making workshops from Wētā Workshop, colouring activities with Māori Mermaid Taonga Puoro from Bub(s) and da Ouncle$. 

A cash bar is available along with kai offerings including a special Te Papa boil up. 

Times and locations

Te Papa Cafe, Level 1 

  • 6.45–10.30pm: Kai available to purchase including a special boil-up

Wellington Foyer, Level 2

  • 7.00pm Opening karakia

  • 7.00–10.30pm Bar

  • 7.00–8.45pm DJ set with Kayseeyuh

  • 7.00–11.00pm Colour in a Māori Mermaid illustration

  • 8.45–9.20pm Bub(s) and da Ouncle$ Taonga Pūoro set 

  • 9.40–10.25pm Mo Etc. 

  • 10.25–11.00pm DJ set with Kayseeyuh

Te Taiao Nature, Level 2 

  • 7.00–11.00pm Exhibition open to explore 

The Treehouse, Te Taiao Nature, Level 2 

  • 7.00–10.00pm Make a flower with Wētā Workshop

  • The Secret City Garden: Spotlight tours through Bush City 

    • 7.30pm 

    • 8.00pm

    • 8.30pm

The Nest, Te Taiao Nature, Level 2 

  • 7.00–10.00pm Make feather earrings with Wētā Workshop

Rongomaraeroa, Our Marae, Level 4 

  • HĀ kōkōwai painting workshops: 

    • 7.15pm 

    • 8.00pm

    • 8.40pm 

    • 10.15pm 

Marae Atea, Level 4

  • 7.00–10.30pm Cosy up to the fire pit with a kawakawa tea. 

Performers

Kayseeyuh
Hailing from the villages of Vailima, Faleula, and Nofoali'i in Upolu; Kayseeyuh is a Sāmoan creative, born and bred in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington. As a DJ, she curates her sets to enjoy easy flowing, the exchanging of energy, and a damn good time. Playing a range from the sounds of the Pacific to the sounds of the European club scene, to the sounds of African Amapiano beats, Kayseeyuh’s eclectic selection will move and groove you all night. As a co-founder of the Wellington based DJ Collective, 6IXHAND, Kayseeyuh has shared her craft at different events across Wellington and Auckland such as Kia Mau Festival, The Layers Experience, as well as 6IXHAND’s own hosted events.

Bub(s) and da Ouncle$
Bub(s) and da Ouncle$ is a super group of intergenerational transmission, consisting of the combined powers of Dr. Riki Pirihi (Rangatuone, Orchestra of Spheres), Alistair Fraser (Tararua, orchestral soloist, composer), Hikurangi Schaverien-Kaa (Dateline, French for Rabbits) and Dr. Ruby Solly (Tararua, Tāmira Pūoro, composer). Fresh off their debut at the iconic Pyramid Club, the quartet is excited to present the spring sounds of ‘He Mahi Mara’, a series of taonga puoro, modular synth, cello, and drum improvisations based on text scores by Ruby Solly. ‘He Mahi Mara’ explores the different work around spring and traditional gardening. Consisting of five short movements ‘Rite - (to Prepare)’, ‘Kō - (to Dig)’, ‘Kākano – (Seed)’, ‘Uā Kowhai – (Spring Showers)’ and ‘Tipu – (New Green Shoots)’; ‘He Mahi Mara' follows the journey of preparing the whenua, planting, and growing towards the warm spring light. 


HĀ is a kaupapa Māori organisation that uses mahi toi to teach the histories of Aotearoa. Our kōanga workshop is a 30-minute experience of kōkōwai, our traditional earth pigments. Together we will explore the pūrākau that speaks to our inherent connection to the whenua and taiao. Participants will leave this workshop with a kōkōwai print that symbolises an aspect of the pūrākau.

Matariki After Dark 2024. Photo by Neil Price