Maungarongo Te Kawa’s He Koha Mō Taku Aroha brings together mixed-media quilts and soft sculptures that draw on protest, pūrākau, whakapapa and collective experience. Te Kawa describes protest as his introduction to art, tracing this connection through defining political movements in Aotearoa including Bastion Point, the 1981 Springbok Tour, Homosexual Law Reform and the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior.

Rather than focusing on oppression itself, Te Kawa’s work centres joy, resilience and aroha. His brightly coloured fabric works engage with Māori narratives, the natural world and symbols of belonging, while reflecting his experience as a gay Māori man and his belief in art as a means of sustaining hope and collective energy.