Pacific Sisters: Fashion Activists is a celebration of mana wāhine, indigenous identities, and the role this collective has played over the past 26 years – through their collaborative works across fashion, performance, music and film – in giving voice and visibility to Māori and Pacific peoples in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Working collaboratively across fashion, performance, music and film, the Pacific Sisters include ground-breaking artists Lisa Reihana, Rosanna Raymond, Ani O’Neill, Suzanne Tamaki, Selina Haami, Niwhai Tupaea, Henzart @ Henry Ah-Foo Taripo, Feeonaa Wall, and Jaunnie ‘Ilolahia.

It’s not a story everyone will know, even though the artists themselves have significant national profiles.

The Pacific Sisters once described themselves as being like the Polynesian version of Andy Warhol’s factory – an ever-evolving collective of artists coming together to create art, music, fashion and film.

“Our work is a reflection of the ‘spark’ we have had as Pacific Sisters – finding our connections to our Pacific stories, peoples, lands, each other,” Pacific Sister Ani O’Neill says.

“For me, Pacific Sisters is a safe space to push boundaries. We might seem a bit hardcore and serious to some, but we have a lot of fun – we like to laugh and play with words as well as frocks.”

This is their first major retrospective.