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Saudade is a solo exhibition showing Naarm/Tāmaki Makaurau based artist, Loren Marks, at Sanderson Gallery.

Sanderson writes that [Loren’s] ‘artworks present ethereal and dreamlike scenes whereby figures emerge from the alchemic realms of paint’.

The works in this exhibition experiment with Helen Frankenthaler’s ‘soak-stain’ technique. Often abstracted, each absorbs the viewer into its individual world of vivid imagery and colour.

Beth had a kōrero with Loren about Saudade and her creative process

Prompts is Artspace Aotearoa’s latest exhibition, showing the early work of leading Aotearoa practitioner Michael Parekōwhai and Turner Prize-winning UK artist Lubaina Himid.

Presenting a large body of work on paper from Himid alongside the early and significant sculptural work, The Indefinite Article, by Parekōwhai, Prompts is Artspace Aotearoa’s first exhibition of 2025, which seeks to explore the gallery’s question this year: Is language large enough? 

Sofia had a kōrero with Kaitohu Director of Artspace Aotearoa, Ruth Buchanan, about the show.

Books of Mana is a new book edited by Jacinta Ruru (Raukawa, Ngāti Ranginui), Angela Wanhalla (Kāi Tahu) and Jeanette Wikaira (Ngāti Pukenga, Ngāti Tamaterā, Ngāpuhi) which released earlier this week. 

It is the first of its kind in the world to celebrate non-fiction indigenous writing – exploring 200 years of Māori print legacies. In examining the ways 180 selected books have enriched lives and helped to foster understanding of the Māori experience, both at home in Aotearoa and internationally, the book is a clear vision of influence, excellence and diversity of Māori writing.

Sofia spoke with co-editor and Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Otago, Jacinta Ruru, about Books of Mana.

Featuring Friday Live with Huia. Brought to you by NZ On Air Music, with thanks to McLeod's Brewery! 

Thanks to The Beer Spot!

Brady Peeti (Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi, Ngāti Maniapoto) joined Sofia in the studio to speak about "What Happened to Mary-Anne?" - a story of trans woman Mary-Anne and her insatiable adoration for the power of rock. The show is on at the Q Theatre Loft from 11th-15th February. You can get your tickets here!

Anto Yeldezian is a Tāmaki Makaurau based artist of Armenian heritage. His latest exhibition, Arena, is currently showing at Coastal Signs Gallery.

The works in Arena often play with bright and bold colours - often being mixed medium, with images, sketches and painting superimposed onto one another. Coastal Signs writes that in Anto’s paintings, ‘[. . . ] images from a myriad of sources are layered on top of one another and synthesized, very adeptly, into painterly tableau. 'The works in Arena are, as the title suggests, often organised around game boards – such as Snakes & Ladders and Noughts & Crosses – and representations of contested territories, both fictional and otherwise’.

Beth had a kōrero with Anto about Arena and his artistic process

Milly plays the classics as well as re-living the Laneways past. Good times... 

The 95bFM Top Ten counts down the best tunes from the bFM playlist as chosen by you!  

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