ST PAUL St and Tautai Contemporary Pacific Arts Trust are proud to present Don’t Pacify Me curated by Charmaine ‘Ilaiu Cutting-edge works with a strong sense of identity will be the focus of the upcoming exhibition Don’t Pacify Me at St Paul St Gallery.

Curator Charmaine ‘Ilaiu, a young Tongan graduate architect, has selected work by art students from Auckland University of Technology (AUT), Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT), Unitec, the University of Auckland and Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design. The artists exhibiting are: Samantha Atasani, Petelo Esekielu, Vaimoana Eves, Penitoa Finau, Claudia Jowitt, Jeremy Leatinu’u, Pelenato Liufau, Cerisse Palalagi, Victoria Patea, Ahilapalapa Rands, Paula Schaafhausen, Siliga David Setoga, David Yenzhi Sun, Metuanooroa Tapuni, Ane Tonga, Kalisolaite ‘Uhila, Mele Mafile’o ‘Uhamaka, Amanda Warwick. The exhibition is a unique opportunity to explore the current condition and direction of contemporary Pacific art. Incorporating painting, photography, moving image, sculpture, design and installation, Don’t Pacify Me presents a wider palette than what is currently understood thematically and to some extent, aesthetically, as Pacific art. The artists' loaded messages implore us not to make assumptions but first give them space to demarcate an artistic existence that is then to be reckoned with.