A shared language, culture and commitment to place connects the members of the Paemanu Collective. As members of the Ngāi Tahu tribe, each artist shares whakapapa (genealogical connection) with the mountains, plains and waterways of Aotearoa New Zealand’s Te Waipounamu (South Island).

Paemanu: Awa Toi (river art) comprises four creative aho (strands) that flow directly from a hīkoi (journey) that 38 members of the collective undertook along their ‘chiefly river’, the Waitaki, in late 2023. The opportunity this hīkoi provided — to strengthen their relationship to and understanding of the physical and spiritual importance of the Waitaki — mirrors the collective’s approach to engaging with the context and peoples of the Maiwar (Brisbane River). Paemanu seeks to engage their members, hosts and audiences in deep conversation and exchange as the two rivers ‘meet’ at this Triennial.