Te Whare o REI gallery

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Rei is a Māori owned and operated gallery under local mana whenua Kāti Wheke, located in the Whakaraupō bay.

Within Rei is a collective of artists who are committed to pushing boundaries, generating conversation, and creating new possibilities under Te Tiriti o Waitangi. As carvers, sculptors, painters, and weavers, our aims are to support emerging, mid-career, and established artists in Ōtautahi. As an extension ofWhakaraupō Carving Centre, the idea behind Rei is to include individuals and groups from all backgrounds who are a part of Te Ao Māori. We aim to create pathways and opportunities for rangatahi who show an affinity for toi Māori, and increase it’s visibility in te Waipounamu.

Launched in 2023

Rei gallery

Our Kaupapa

Nestled in Ōhinehou, Rei is a space for Māori and non-Māori to find common ground, to create not just art, but mutual aid between each other, to make amends with the past and centre Te Ao Māori (the world of Māori).

We want society to see the ways in which contribution is meaningful, how creative work can be realised collectively, and find ways of how we might shape our future together.

Our portfolio

Rei is comprised of a growing collective of diverse members who work with a broad range of mediums including: sculptors, carvers, weavers, visual artists, visual performers, musicians, writers, printers, ta moko artists, tattooists, and silver smiths.

Current exhibition

Madhu Rees brings together 2 styles of Indian traditional art, Mughal miniatures and Madhubani tribal art in her solo exhibition, ‘The Spirit of Ananda’.

Ananda means bliss and happiness in Sanskrit , both within the present day and according to the sacred Hindu texts, eternal bliss.

She has been privileged to be tutored by her gurus Ajay Sharma, based in Jaipur, India and Vidushini Prasad based in Bangalore.
She will humbly present some of her guru Ajay Sharma’s work at the exhibition too as it will highlight what she aspires to.

Please come and enjoy this beautiful journey of Indian art.

The exhibition will run from Friday 14th March 2025 until Sunday 6th April 2025

UPCOMING exhibition

The Whakaraupō Carving Centre Trust and Te Whare o Rei / Rei Gallery is proud to present ‘I lo’u lalolagi, in my world’, a creative exhibition by Leni Kaisa. A Pasifika journey influenced by art, culture and music.

As a member of the Rei Collective, Leni's mahi toi is a true reflection of Leni’s mana, whakapapa and skill set, through an indigenous lense Leni presents works that allows us to view the beauty of the things that informs and influences her creative practice.

As a Samoan visual artist, Leni’s ability to uphold the mana of her whānau and communities through her creative mahi is something we all strive to achieve as indigenous creatives, to tell our stories, share our whakapapa, cultural practices and create taonga that promotes kotahitanga / unity is fundamental to indigenous creative practice.

Nau mai haere mai koutou, I lo’u lalolagi opens at 6pm on Friday the 11th of April and will run through until Sunday the 11th of May 2025.