Marama Dina

Image: Seasea, a meke (type of dance), being performed in Fiji (detail). Ref: PAColl-1914-209. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/23146048

'Marama Dina' is an exhibition borne of research and engagement: ongoing research led by The Veiqia Project that aims to reconnect iTaukei (Indigenous Fijian) women with traditional cultural practices; and inter-generational engagement developed through eight workshops over a 12-month period which began in 2018 at Campbelltown Arts Centre (CAC).

The 'Marama Dina' exhibition sees iTaukei women take over CAC to share the exploration of cultural rejuvenation and celebration with the wider community, presented in conjunction with the Yirran Miigaydhu exhibition.

Featuring new commissions by 10 artists from Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, 'Marama Dina' considers female iTaukei identities in the diaspora, be that away from Fiji or away from village life. The artists each consider how their blood lines and contemporary lives come together, and how they embody the past, present and future. Constructed within the exhibition is a vale ni soqo (village meeting house) offering a space where Pasifika communities can gather, learn and share knowledge.

Founded in 2015, The Veiqia Project is a creative research collective of female artists and researchers inspired by veiqia, the traditional practice of Fijian female tattooing (forcibly halted by British colonisers in the 19th century). The collective uses workshops and exhibitions to invite Fijian (and other Pasifika) women^*on a journey of artistic and cultural discovery.

Members of The Veiqia Project have been in residence at CAC since October 2017, using the space to explore new artistic concepts and steadily engage with women in the Fijian communities of Western Sydney. Developed during this time at CAC, 'Marama Dina' is respectfully led by a curatorium comprising members of The Veiqia Project, local Pasifika women and CAC staff.

Artists include: Margaret Aull, Torika Bolatagici, Donita Vatuinaruku Hulme, Yasbelle Kerkow, Joana Monolagi, Dulcie Stewart, Salote Tawale, Luisa Tora, MC Trey aka Thelma Thomas and Emele Ugavule.

^*women and female identifying