E hono ana i a onamata ki a inamata hei ārahi i a anamata.
Kua whakaaturia e Te Ahurei Toi o Tāmaki tana kaha ki te hāpai i te reo Māori, i runga i te ngākau whakapuke, i tana tuku hōtaka i raro i te maru o Toitū Te Reo, o tētehi wāhanga o Tuia Te Muka Kōrero. Ka ārahi tēnei rautaki i tō mātou haepapa ki te whakaū i te mana o te ao Māori, e whai wāhi nei ko te tukunga o ngā hōtaka reo Māori, ko te whakanui i te reo Māori hei taonga, hei wāhanga whakahirahira hoki e rere māori ana i ō tātou ao i Tāmaki Makaurau nei.
Ko te whāinga o tā mātou mahere, ko te whai kia kitea, kia rangona hoki te reo Māori i te roanga o te Ahurei. Kua whakaurua e mātou te reo Māori ki ngā wāhanga katoa o te Ahurei – ki ngā ingoa o ngā whakaaturanga, ki ngā whakamārama kua whakamāoringia, ki ngā hōtaka reo Māori, ki te whakamahinga hoki o ngā kupu Māori kāore i whakapākehātia, otirā ko ērā kua whānui te whakamahia e te tokomaha o ngā tāngata i Aotearoa.
Mā te huarahi o ngā toi e pāorooro ai te reo ki ngā takiwā katoa o Tāmaki Makaurau – ki te Raki, ki te Tonga, ki te Rāwhiti, ki te Uru, ki te Puku anō hoki. Ko te taonga o te reo Māori kua tukuna iho mai i ngā whakatupuranga kei waenga pū, e whai wāhi ana ki ngā momo toi – ki te pūoro, ki te ruri, ki te whakaari, ki te waiata, ki ngā kōrero anō hoki, hei pāhekoheko mā ngā apataki o ngā pakeketanga katoa, nō ngā iwi katoa hoki, hei pārekarekatanga anō mō rātou.
Connecting the past with the present to guide the future.
Te Ahurei Toi o Tāmaki Auckland Arts Festival has been proud to demonstrate its commitment to te reo Māori through the delivery of programmes under Toitū Te Reo, a component of Tuia Te Muka Kōrero, The Auckland Festival Trust’s Māori Strategy. This strategy guides our responsibility to uphold the mana of te ao Māori, which includes the delivery of te reo Māori programmes, acknowledging the Māori language as a treasure, and as an integral and normalised part of our everyday lives here in Tāmaki Makaurau.
The aim of our plan is to ensure that te reo Māori is seen and heard throughout the Festival. We have integrated te reo Māori into all aspects of the Festival – show titles, translated descriptions, programmes delivered in te reo, and the use of kupu without English equivalents, especially those that have become inherent in their use by many New Zealanders.
Through the platform of the arts, te reo will resound in all areas of Auckland – North, South, East, West and Central. The taonga of the Māori language that has been handed down through generations presents itself front and centre, included into the art forms of music, poetry, theatre, waiata and kōrero, for audiences of all ages and backgrounds to engage with and enjoy.
Toitū Te Reo Highlights
The 2025 Festival lineup featured the following te reo and kaupapa Māori works and collaborations:
Kia Kori! Let’s Move! in Aotea Square (7 March) — following a mihi and karakia by Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei to open the Festival, this free concert in glorious late-afternoon sunshine saw the public dance away to crowd-pleasing jams such as ‘September’ (Earth, Wind & Fire), ‘Wake Up’ (Aaradhna) and ‘How Bizarre’ (OMC), all performed by Betty-Anne, Thomas Stowers, Julia Deans and The Levites.
Whānau Day in Aotea Square (9 March) — a Sunday of free play, movement and culture for families in the central city. Spanning from Te Komititanga and up Queen Street to Aotea Square, tamariki were encouraged to pick up one of our special ‘Activity Passports’ and stamp their way around events, including busking by Te Whainoa Te Wiata; a Pūkana Play Zone featuring giant bubbles, face painting, Poi and Moko, and other cultural activities; story time with Miriama Kamo for tamariki, with Sign Language by Abbie Twiss; free e-Tuk Tuk rides; and performances on the Festival Garden stage by Siva Afi drummers, Tung Lek Lion Dancers and more.
ration the Queen’s veges (12–16 March) — co-written by Tainui Tukiwaho and Te Wehi Ratana, this galvanising new play from Te Pou Theatre explored the high-profile activism at Te Papa’s English Treaty of Waitangi exhibition in 2023, and the 48 hours artist Te Wehi spent at Rimutaka Prison in the aftermath. The world premiere of this one-man show was performed by Ngahiriwa Rauhina.
Ngā Whakamāoritanga | Translations (13–15 March) — a powerful and insightful reading of Irish playwright Brian Friel’s play, written in 1980 and set in 19th century Ireland. Translated into te reo Māori by Hēmi Kelly of Ngāti Maniapoto and Irish heritage, the play reading – which was part of the Festival’s ‘Seed of an Idea’ development series – was performed entirely in te reo by Ani-Piki Tuari, Miriama McDowell, Te Kohe Tuhaka, Anatonio Te Maioha, Maaka Pohatu, James Tito and Matu Ngaropo.
Toiere (14 March) — presented in collaboration with NZ Opera, a concert of treasured and popular waiata performed by some of our finest soloists. Uniting beloved operatic arias, duets and ensembles in their original languages and te reo Māori, this was a celebration of voice, language and identity while honouring Aotearoa New Zealand’s rich cultural landscape and opera’s universal emotions.
Whiua ki te Ao – A celebration of waiata reo Māori (21 March) Maisey Rika was joined by Hana Skerrett-White, Leon Blake, Pere Wihongi and members from kapa haka Angitu for this big wholesome sing-song in the Spiegeltent. Classics like ‘Pōkarekare Ana’ and ‘Tūtira Mai Ngā Iwi’ were performed by all on the night along with captivating songs in te reo from Maisey’s repertoire.
Maya Piata (18–21 March) — part of the Festival’s inaugural Indigenous Music Series, New Orleans-born Piata rocked her Ngāti Tūwharetoa whakapapa, and African American and Native American roots on stage with a concert that raised the roof of the Spiegeltent and spread joy throughout Tāmaki with regional performances in Glen Innes, Māngere and Waiheke Island.