Dream Weavers Installation

Created by artist Dizzie Pixie, this installation celebrates creativity, connection, sustainability, and belonging. What began as individual strips of fabric, woven by community members of all ages and backgrounds, has transformed into a vibrant collective artwork. Each woven piece represents a unique voice, story, and contribution.

Together, they form a colourful reflection of our community. Using reclaimed and repurposed materials, the work highlights the potential of creativity to bring people together while encouraging thoughtful and sustainable approaches to making. Through the simple act of weaving, participants contributed to a shared vision, creating something far greater than any individual piece could achieve alone.

This can be viewed in the Cultural Hub, next to New World in Ormiston Town Centre

Arts Out East is a Te Tuhi programme supported by the Howick Local Board.

Howick Frames - The Routes of Roots

📍Wellington Street, Howick, Auckland‍ ‍

Howick Frames is a community-driven exhibition initiative that brings art into the heart of Howick. Created in collaboration with Phantom Billstickers, the Howick Village Association, and a supportive local business owner, this innovative project transforms everyday spaces into opportunities for creativity.

Each month, a new set of works is featured, showcasing a range of mediums from painting and photography to textiles and design. The rotating exhibitions not only provide local artists with greater visibility but also invite the public to engage with art as part of their daily lives.

By turning the village into an open gallery, Howick Frames celebrates creativity, supports our artistic community, and enriches the cultural fabric of East Auckland.

Current Exhibition: The Route of Roots

Culture is not static. It is inherited, adapted, questioned and reimagined through the lives we lead and the communities we shape. The Routes of Roots brings together a selection of artworks by secondary school students from across East Auckland, offering a glimpse into the diverse ways young people understand identity, belonging and home.

Presented within the public realm, these works invite moments of pause amid the everyday. Each artwork becomes both a personal reflection and a shared conversation, revealing the layered experiences, histories and aspirations that make up our communities. Rather than seeking a single narrative of culture, the exhibition embraces plurality - recognising that identity is often fluid, intersecting and continually unfolding.

Artists draw from memory, ancestry, language, place and lived experience, translating these influences into visual forms that speak to both individual and collective belonging. Together, the works acknowledge that culture is as much about what we inherit as what we create, reminding us that communities are continually shaped through the stories we choose to tell and the connections we foster.

The creative perspectives of East Auckland's young people affirms the value of art as a means of seeing ourselves - and one another - with greater curiosity, empathy and understanding.

Past Exhibitions:

• Serena Stevenson: Connection Projects

• Howick Photographic Society: Through the Lens

• Jessie Kanji: TELLURIC 2025/26

• Bobo Doodles: Vending Machine 2025

• Anju Desai: Neighbourhood 2025

• Brunelle Dias: Bom dia! 2024

• Local Schools: Matariki Owairoa 2024

• Brendan Kitto: Howick Ward 2024

  Howick Frames is a partnership between Arts Out East Howick Village Associationand a local Business owner. Arts Out East is a Te Tuhiprogramme supported by the Howick Local Board.‍ ‍

Soap Carving with Ngaroma Riley

Discover the rich traditions of Māori carving in this hands-on workshop with artist Ngaroma Riley. Learn about the tikanga of carving and the ancestral form and function of the koruru (carved gable mask) before developing practical carving skills using soap and simple, safe tools.

Guided by Ngaroma, you'll explore techniques for creating three-dimensional forms while carving your own unique koruru-inspired artwork to take home.

Suitable for beginners, with activities that can also be adapted for those with more carving experience.

Workshop Dates: Sunday 20 September, 10.00am–12.00pm / Sunday 20 September, 2.00pm–4.00pm / Thursday 24 September, 6.00pm–8.00pm / $20 per person (includes all tools and materials) / Ages 12+ (Children under 14 must be accompanied by an adult.)

About the Artist: Ngaroma Riley (Te Rarawa, Te Aupōuri, Pākehā) is an artist and founder of Te Ana o Hine, a wāhine-led carving shed based at Te Tuhi in Tāmaki Makaurau. Ngaroma began her carving journey creating Buddhist statues while living and working in Japan. Since returning to Aotearoa in 2020, she has completed a Certificate in Whakairo at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.

Her recent achievements include building a storehouse for a sculptural installation in Kaitaia, being shortlisted for the 2023 Kingi Tuheitia Portraiture Award, and winning the 2025 Molly Morpeth Canaday Major Art Award. She is widely recognised for her hand-carved karetao (puppets) and her distinctive sculptural practice.

Te Ana o Hine at Te Tuhi is a wāhine-led carving space established to create a safe and supportive environment for wāhine taketake and others who encounter barriers within the carving world. Meaning "the cave of Hine", the studio draws on the mana of the atua wāhine, providing an āhuru mōwai (sanctuary) for artists to learn, create and connect. The name also acknowledges the whare tangata—the house of humanity—honouring wāhine Māori as creators and nurturers of future generations.

Bookings are essential as places are limited.

Bookings are essential as places are limited. Soap Carving bookings

This is a Te Tuhi programme supported by Auckland Council

Celebrating Cultures Pop-Up

Arts Out East invites you to experience the Celebrating Culture Pop-Up, a free two-week celebration of creativity, culture, and community in the heart of Botany Town Centre.

Produced by Arts Out East, Te Tuhi's community arts brokering programme, the Celebrating Culture Pop-Up showcases the incredible diversity of East Auckland by bringing together local artists, performers, cultural organisations, and community groups in one vibrant creative space.

Across two weeks, visitors can enjoy free cultural workshops, live performances, demonstrations, storytelling, music, dance, and hands-on activities designed to encourage participation, learning, and connection. Whether you're trying a new creative skill, celebrating your own heritage, or discovering another culture, there's something for everyone.

Throughout the programme, you can contribute to collaborative community artworks, explore traditions from around the world, and connect with the people who make East Auckland one of Aotearoa's most culturally diverse communities.

Join us for the Opening Celebration on Saturday 26 September, featuring live entertainment, creative activities, and family fun to launch two weeks of free cultural experiences.

Full Programme of workshops and activities

The Celebrating Culture Pop-Up is proudly delivered by Arts Out East and Te Tuhi, generously funded by the Howick Local Board and supported by Botany Town Centre.

Art of Conversation: Curated by Giulia Pianelli

The art of conversation is back for 2026, with a fourth rendition of artists and venues. The Art of Conversation is a series highlighting artists who share connections to the East Auckland area. Each invited artist will talk about their work and their practice in their favorite local café. This free series aims to break the formal nature of artist talks and support local businesses. All we ask is that when you attend, you purchase a hot or cold drink to support the chosen local business. Think good vibes, great art chat, and supporting locals with a nice beverage. This will run throughout the months of November 2026.

Giulia is incredibly excited to be curating the fourth edition of The Art of Conversation and to present such an amazing line-up of artists! Carla, Salome, Lina, Sahana, and Gary all come from different backgrounds and engage with distinct artistic practices, reflecting the vibrant diversity that makes the East Auckland community so unique.

Based “out east” herself, Giulia is also very happy to support local businesses through this project and to create opportunities for artists and communities to connect in these local spaces”.

Check out the series, make sure the dates are in your diary.

• Carla Ruka
  Sunday 1 November, 2PM
  Zabr'One
  47 The Parade, Bucklands Beach, Auckland

  To Book

• Salome Tanuvasa
  Saturday 7 November, 11.30AM
  Hawthorn Dene
  Down the long driveway 280 Botany Road, Golflands, Auckland 2013

  To Book

• Lina Castro
  Saturday 14 November, 12PM 
  Rombus Cafe + Bar
  35 Cook Street, Howick, Auckland 2014

  To Book

• Sahana Rahman
  Saturday 21 November, 1:30PM
  Uxbridge
  35 Uxbridge Road, Mellons Bay, Auckland 2014

  To Book

• Gary $ilipa
  Saturday 28 November, 12PM
  Te Tuhi
  Te Tuhi 21 William Roberts Rd, Pakuranga, Auckland

  To Book

About Giulia Pianelli

Giulia is an art professional and curator committed to supporting socially and politically engaged practices. She sees her work as a way to amplify activist messages and foster cross-cultural exchange through contemporary art.

Originally from Italy, Giulia is currently based in Tāmaki Makaurau, where she works as Marketing Lead at The Arts House Trust. She previously held positions at Te Tuhi and at other galleries and organisations across Aotearoa and Europe. She is also developing an independent curatorial practice, with recent projects including Le Vu and Rebekah Sohn: Lines We Carry, Franklin Arts Centre (2026) and noa hāmana: Haerenga, Studio One Toi Tū (2026). 

Giulia holds a Bachelor’s degree in Arts Management from Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, a Master's degree in Global Marketing from the University of Milan, and a diploma in Australian Aboriginal Art History from Curtin University (Perth).

This year’s artists include: Carla Ruka, Salome Tanuvasa, Lina Castro, Sahana Rahman, Gary $ilipa

About the creatives

Carla Ruka

Carla Ruka is a distinguished clay artist renowned for her distinctive coiling technique, which is deeply immersed in a Māori worldview. Her practice is profoundly inspired by Hineukurangi, the Māori deity of clay, the natural environment (te taiao), and her Māori and European whakapapa (genealogy).
Carla maintains a diverse creative portfolio, leveraging her art to champion Māori ceramics while actively dedicating herself to community development and support. Her comprehensive work includes an online store, student mentorship, teaching, kapa haka facilitation, exhibition curation, sculpture and installation creation, project management, and community engagement. Furthermore, she holds the position of Pou Ārahi (Principal Cultural Advisor) for Te Tuhi.
Deeply connected to her communities, Carla is a dedicated member of Ngā Kaihanga Uku - Māori Clay Artist Collective and serves as a leader for Hineukurangi, a collective composed for the support and nurture of established and emerging Māori Ceramic Artists.

Salome Tanuvasa

Salome Tanuvasa is a New Zealand-born Tongan-Sāmoan artist whose practice responds directly to her environment and surroundings.
Certain shapes, colours and motifs recur and, by utilising what is around her in poetic and intuitive ways, the artist often speaks to the wider experience of Pacific people living in Aotearoa.
Salome works in a variety of media, including painting, drawing, textiles, photography and video. She is interested in speaking directly to the work of women like her mother, a seamstress, and her textile banner works – rather than being about ‘craft’ – are explorations of labour and joy within and beyond the domestic realm.
Of her practice, she says: “I don’t like wasting materials, and I love challenging myself and seeking potential in mundane objects and offcuts. This gives me a new sense of hope every time.”
Salome completed her Masters degree at Elam School of Fine Arts in 2014 and she followed this with a Diploma in Secondary Teaching. She is represented by Tim Melville Gallery, and lives and works in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.

Lina Castro

Born in Bogotá, Colombia, Lina Castro is an Industrial Designer with a background in education, sales and marketing. She discovered embroidery in 2016 and has since pushed the craft beyond the hoop through new techniques, materials and unexpected surfaces.
For Lina, embroidery is more than a craft; it's a safe space where she finds joy and explores her creative being. "Once I started stitching, my obsession has been to create contemporary pieces that bring this craft back to life, showing all the ways you can tell stories and express yourself with needle and thread."
Now based in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, Lina loves helping students discover something new about themselves, stitch by stitch. As a member of Sur Collective, she has participated in multiple collaborative exhibitions and projects, connecting with and building relationships with local artists.

Sahana Rahman

Sahana Rahman is a painter, textile and community artist of Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan Tamil heritage based in Tāmaki Makaurau. Born and raised in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Sahana graduated with a BFA (Hons) from Massey University in 2022.
Working across painting, embroidery and upcycled materials, her practice explores intuitive material exploration to express lived experience, healing and diasporic identity. Drawing from South Asian art traditions, particularly Bengali Kantha embroidery and its tradition of storytelling through stitching, Sahana brings these influences into her own practice to explore the complexities of navigating life as a brown queer person.
In 2025, Sahana was awarded the Asian Arts Fund Visual Arts Residency, supported by Satellites, Te Tuhi and Foundation North. She explored the hard and soft nature of materials and the in-between spaces they create. In the same year, she also presented her solo exhibition Katha O Maatram: Stories of Belonging at Studio One Toi Tū.

In 2022, Sahana created the ongoing Nokshi Kotha Workshop, a collective embroidery project inspired by Bengali Nokshi Kantha. More than 200 people across Aotearoa have contributed their stories to the growing embroidered mural, creating space for collective healing and joy.

Gary $ilipa

Gary $ilipa is a multidisciplinary artist with Samoan heritage based in Auckland, New Zealand. He has a versatile art practice and is a committed advocate for the role of community arts in fostering wellbeing and connection.
Since 2010, Gary has developed a distinctive visual language that moves beyond his early roots in graffiti, a form he explored extensively from 1998. His studio-based practice now produces works that fluidly inhabit both public spaces and gallery environments.
In 2015, Gary founded The Good The Bad in Glen Innes, the first art gallery in Tāmaki. In 2026, the gallery expanded to a new location at 79 Queens Road, Panmure. In 2025, he also established Books & Pieces at 37 Queens Road, Panmure.

Arts Out East is a Te Tuhi programme supported by the Howick Local Board.

Kantha Stitching on Handmade Paper

Kantha Stitching on Handmade Fabric Paper is a two-part workshop series exploring upcycling, storytelling and traditional hand-stitching practices inspired by Nokshi Kantha.

Over the first weekend, participants will transform discarded textiles into handmade paper using fabric pulp, creating a unique surface to work with. In the second session, participants will stitch into their dried fabric paper using Kantha-inspired techniques, exploring repetitive patterns, personal narratives and the meditative qualities of handwork.

By the end of the workshop series, each participant will have created a finished piece to take home, ready to frame and display.

Designed for young adults and adults, this workshop is suitable for beginners as well as those with previous creative experience. It is ideal for anyone interested in craft, storytelling, sustainability and culturally informed art practices.

BOOK HERE

Workshop 1

Saturday 14 & 28 November

Saturday 14 November | 10am–12pm
Te Tuhi Artist Studios
21 William Roberts Road, Pakuranga

Saturday 28 November | 10am–12pm
Robert Harris Café, Level 1
Botany Town Centre
588 Chapel Road, Botany

Workshop 2

Sunday 15 & 29 November

Sunday 15 November | 10am–12pm
Ormiston Cultural Hub (next to New World)
Ormiston Town Centre
240 Ormiston Road, Flat Bush, Auckland 2019

Sunday 29 November | 10am–12pm
Ormiston Cultural Hub (next to New World)
Ormiston Town Centre
240 Ormiston Road, Flat Bush, Auckland 2019

Artist: Sahana Rahman

Arts Out East is a Te Tuhiprogramme supported by the Howick Local Board.