Mana: Protest In Print

Abstract

Mana: Protest in Print is both an exhibition and a celebration of Pacific stories: the Pacific quotidian, Pacific resistance, Pacific ways of being and knowing. This Curatorium piece is a conversation between the curators and champions of Mana: Protest in Print, Andrea Low, Wanda Ieremia-Allan and Paula Legel, guided by questions and reflections from Pacific studies doctoral student Allyssa Verner-Pula. Using taonga (prized resources), archival materials and digital interactives, Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland War Memorial Museum’s Mana: Protest in Print opened in 2025. The exhibition presents the story of the Mana newspaper, a publication from the late 1970s created specifically for Pacific and Māori audiences throughout Aotearoa New Zealand. The newspaper was groundbreaking, with an ethos of platforming all aspects of life for Pacific and Māori communities across the motu (country). In this talanoa (conversation), Low, Ieremia-Allan and Legel detail the many reasons why the story of Mana is important to tell now. This conversation weaves together curatorial frameworks and approaches with lived experiences and Pacific knowledges, to construct the background to which Mana: Protest in Print came to fruition. Mana has an ever-unravelling whakapapa (genealogy), existing as a result of—and reminder of—the need for Pacific story sovereignty, Pacific representations and Pacific connection. Photos of the exhibition by Emily Parr add a rich visual dimension and bring to life the exhibition under discussion.