Kotahi te moemoeā: A Shared Vision
Ululau Ama and Sarah Holten - Māpura Studios
22 February – 21 April, 2024
Exhibition Opening: Wednesday 28 February, 6pm
Panel Discussion: Wednesday 20 March, 6pm
First Floor Galleries
In this exhibition, Māpura Studios celebrate and acknowledge the achievement and work of Ululau Ama (recipient of Pacific Toa Award 2022) and Sarah Holten (recipient of Te Tohu Iho Pūmanawa award 2023) in their recognition by Creative New Zealand as outstanding artists.
Both artists have lived with their own personal challenges; art being the common language through which they can express themselves. Māpura Studios is proud to work alongside and support these talented young adults. Their work demonstrates there are no limits to what is possible as a Māori or Pasifika artist with a disability.
With support from
Above: Installation photos from the mural created by Ululau Ama and Nunu Ama during the exhibition
Photo credit: Alex Burton
Above: Installation photos of Sarah Holten’s work during the exhibition
Photo credit: Alex Burton
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Ululau Ama was born in 1994 at Moto’otua Hospital in Apia, Samoa. He had meningitis at 3 months old and was later diagnosed with epilepsy. Ululau has attended Art Therapy classes and is currently an artist at Māpura Studios in Auckland. Ululau’s work includes drawing, printmaking, poetry, music, painting, and sculpture.
He is a visual storyteller, with his Pacific identity weaving through all his art, and many of his works are based on Samoan mythology. He tells stories of Samoa through his work.
At Māpura Arts Studio, while doing printmaking, Ululau and his mother would play a game to see who could create the most beautiful prints, with no mistakes. These games built the foundation of Ululau’s artistic confidence, and through his tutors he has learned to create with focus, technique, and pride.
2017- His first art book was published - Utaga Lilo Ole Mafaufau- Secret of the Mind.
2018 - Painting "Hibiscus"
Epilepsy Foundation NZ
Artilepsy Participated for Brain Day Auckland University.
2019 - Painting "Sina"
Finalist - IHC Art Awards
("Sina" took him to Wellington to the art awards presentation)
2020 - October - Painting “Village Under the Stars”
Top 100 Finalist in the IHC Art Awards
2020 - November - Kiwi Project- Mairangi Arts Centre
Painting ceramic Kiwi eggs for funds to save Kiwi birds.
2021 - Pacifika Arts Exhibition online (Lockdown)
Pacifika artists, Art report by JoCat on JoCat Journal Magazine.
2022 - Painting - “My World - There is Hope”
Top 100 Artworks IHC Art Awards
2022 - Winner Pasifika Art Awards – Pacific Toa Award
2022 - TU8 Tulavuan Fashion Show
2022 - Tōfā Mamao Private Dinner
2023 – Commission for Pasifika Festival
2023 – Commission for Avondale Houses project
Sarah Holten is a Māori artist, of Ngāti Maniapoto and Tūwharetoa descent who faced significant challenges due to her complex disability. As an artist with Rett syndrome, she was non-verbal and had no autonomous use of her hands. However, this did not stop her from becoming an established artist in the disability and mainstream sectors.
Sarah developed into a confident and dynamic artist, capable of exhibiting works and capturing audiences in the wider Auckland art scene. Her time at Māpura Studios over the past nine years led to special social connections and friendships.
Sarah has been an inspiration to all in her community and whanau, demonstrating with her paintings and artworks that nothing held her back from achieving. She employed a range of techniques, including a head pointer and the movement of her whole body to create a variety of marks. Her work delights in its complexity, expression, and mood. Sarah created work at home, in her resident TeTuhi Parnell studio for the past three years and in the creative environment of Māpura Studios for the past nine years on Tuesdays.
Sarah completed a residency at Studio One Toi Tu 2019-20 with the exhibition Making My Mark featuring the work she created during her time there.
Sarah was recognized with the prestigious Creative New Zealand Te Tohu Iho Pūmanawa award at The Ngā Taonga Toi a Te Waka Toi Awards in 2023. Sarah was aware and proud of this acknowledgement before her sudden passing.
We warmly acknowledge Sarah and her whanau with her passing in late 2023. (25th October).
31/10/1993-25/10/2023
List of Selected Exhibitions
2023 Tangata Moana: Tātou tātou e – various Libraries across Tāmaki Makaurau
2023 Matariki – Catch a Falling Star – Alberton House
2022 IHC Art Awards Second Place Overall Winner
2022 Matariki - Wish Upon a Star – Alberton House
2022 Just My Imagination – Pah Homestead
2021 Māpura Online Exhibition
2020 Give Me a Minute – Pah Homestead
2020 Making My Mark – Studio OneToi Tu Residency Exhibition
2019 A Thousand Stories – Charity Auction with John Gow and Māpura Studios
2019 Press Any Key – Studio One
2018 Mana Taurite - Women’s Suffrage Exhibition – Mangere Art Centre
Māpura Studios is a creative space located in central Auckland with satellite groups in other areas.
We offer inclusive, multi-modal art classes and art therapy programmes for people of all ages, diversity and need, as well as the wider community. These include visual art, music, cartooning, dance, performance, and therapy programmes.
We provide a professional service in person-centred visual arts learning, creative therapies, and arts practice – and maintain an extensive exhibition calendar for our artists.