In this Ockham Lecture, Sarah Hudson will delve into the works of three Māori practitioners who employ fun, play and frivolity to explore pūrakau (customary narratives) and express their lived experiences. Maungarongo Te Kawa, Ayesha Green and Turumeke Harrington harness play as a tool to explore, to learn, to connect and to share. Their approach is rare amongst their contemporary Māori art peers. This lecture will lay down a challenge for frivolity to be taken seriously.

Sarah Hudson (Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Pūkeko) is an artist, researcher and mum living below Kaputerangi in Whakatāne. Sarah is the founder of a soil research group Kauae Raro and a member of Mata Aho Collective. Mata Aho is nominated for the 2021 Walters Prize and is currently exhibiting its 2020 installation, Atapō, at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki.

Ron Te Kawa, Kapa Haka Quilt Welcome Home, detail, 2020.