Poetry readings with Colleen Coco Collins & others

Experience an afternoon of poetry and performance with Colleen Coco Collins, Sinag Fernandez, Arihia Hall and Mahalia Salesa, presented alongside the exhibition touchsprings. The four artists will share poetry that considers connections between people, place, identity and land, and the ways Indigenous relationships with land endure and evolve in the face of colonial histories and ongoing social and economic forces. The readings bring together artists working across poetry, spoken word, visual art, performance and writing, with perspectives spanning Aotearoa, the Pacific and beyond. Colleen Coco Collins is an interdisciplinary artist of Irish, French and Odawa descent whose practice encompasses poetry, songwriting, performance and visual art. Based in Mi’kma’ki/Nova Scotia, her work explores themes including rhythm, language, movement, perception and relationships between human and more-than-human worlds. Sinag Fernandez is a Filipino artist and artsworker based in Tāmaki Makaurau. Working across painting, writing and curatorial practice, she explores intimacy, memory and the experience of finding and creating a sense of home within the diaspora. Arihia Hall (Ngāti Tukorehe, Ngāti Tūwharetoa) is a Māori poet and spoken-word artist whose work draws on identity, whakapapa and kaupapa Māori. Her performances incorporate elements of te reo Māori, waiata and karakia, and she is a member of Ngā Hinepūkōrero. Mahalia Salesa is a Tongan, Sāmoan and English poet, student and multidisciplinary artist based in Tāmaki Makaurau. Her creative practice spans poetry and other artistic forms, drawing on her cultural and personal experiences. The readings take place within touchsprings, an exhibition exploring relationships between Indigenous peoples and land.