Auckland's Pasifika Festival is New Zealand’s largest cultural celebration. Started in 1992, it grew rapidly. By 2013 it included over 1,500 performers, alongside a strong showing of experts like Samoa-based master carver Tuaolevadola Pio Timu, shown here in 2013, working on one of five large pou (carved posts) for an Auckland childcare centre. Designed by Samoan, Tongan, Fijian, Cook Island and Niuean artists, each pou will represent a different Pacific culture.
Timu learnt to carve the traditional way by doing an apprenticeship with his father. The traditional skills he uses are no longer widely practised, and his visit to New Zealand was an opportunity for these to be seen.
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by Michael Craig
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