Ahilapalapa Rands
Ahilapalapa Rands (Hawaiian, Fijian, Pākehā) is an independent curator, writer and artist from Aotearoa (New Zealand). She is driven to create and imagine alternative ways of exhibition making. Her multidisciplinary methodology is informed by issues relevant to Indigeneity and investigating ways that settler colonisation has and continues to inform narratives and power dynamics in the Pacific.
Recent projects include: lei-pā: a curatorial exhibition in collaboration with Lana Lopesi presented by ST PAUL St Gallery, 2017; Cold Islanders a group exhibition at Waikato Museum Te Whare Taonga o Waikato, Hamilton, 2017; Indigenous Arts Journal Residency, The Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Banff, 2017.
New Zealand artist, Ahilapalapa (Ahi) Rands creates alternative ways of making art and often gives a voice to people and stories not traditionally represented in art or cultural institutions. She frequently works with communities and creates art in response to her surroundings. For Ahi, it is about identifying the most authentic way to communicate ideas based on the people she meets and the places she works.
Image: Ahilapalapa Rands. Photo credit Guy Loftus, courtesy of Invisible Dust.