The Kei Uta Collective

By Professor Huhana Smith, Massey University, New Zealand as part of Irish Studies’ Seminar Series

You are invited to attend the second seminar of our Irish Studies’ Seminar Series, which is run in association with Carbon Cultures hosted by the Centre for Irish Studies, NUI Galway this month.

This seminar will take place at 4pm, Tuesday 22 October at Room G010, Moore Institute, Hardiman Research Building, NUI Galway.

We are delighted this month to welcome the artist, scholar and curator Professor Huhana Smith to the Centre for Irish Studies, as part of an Irish Research Council New Foundations award in collaboration with Professor Karen E. Till and the Space&Place Research Collective, Department of Geography, Maynooth University. This is a follow up seminar to our Carbon Cultures Interdisciplinary Seminar we hosted earlier this year where Dr Cathy Fitzgerald was in conversation with Dr Iain Biggs on eco-social futures, and all that attended that seminar would be most welcome to attend on this occasion as well.

Huhana will be discussing her ongoing work with the Kei Uta Collective in New Zealand. This is a transdisciplinary research team that has worked together since 2014 to determine necessary adaptation toolkits and transition action plans that aim to mitigate uncontrollable climate change, its unpredictability, and prepare communities in the short term for their long term protection. The Kei Uta Collective has created unique and compelling collaborations where culture, science, design and contemporary art privilege Māori ideas of ecological and cultural sustainability, and which are location-specific to Kuku, Horowhenua, Te Ika a Maui/North Island, New Zealand.

Professor Huhana Smith is a visual artist, curator and principle investigator in research who engages in major environmental, trans-disciplinary, kaupapa Māori and action-research projects. She is co-principle investigator for research that includes mātauranga Māori methods with sciences to actively address climate change concerns for coastal Māori lands in Horowhenua-Kāpiti. Huhana actively encourages the use of art and design’s visual systems combined in exhibitions, to expand how solutions might integrate complex issues and make solutions more accessible for local communities.

We are also delighted to welcome eco-social artist Laura Donkers (University of Dundee) as our session discussant on Tuesday. Laura will explore some of the key issues that Huhana will be addressing in her lecture, and examine it in relation to her own work and experience in the Outer Hebrides and Scottish visual and ecological cultures more widely.

We would like to acknowledge the support of the Irish Research Council, Centre for Irish Studies NUI Galway, Dept. of Geography Maynooth University, School of Art Massey University, and the Research Support Scheme, CASSCS, NUI Galway, in co-hosting our seminar this month.

As usual, do spread the word as beidh fáilte roimh chách!

Le gach dea-ghuí,