Artist Workshops & Talks
Ruri Raranga
Hinemoana Baker
About the work
Ruri Rongoā is a nurturing creative space for takatāpui poets and poetry lovers, guided by poet and performer Hinemoana Baker. These free sessions are a gentle wānanga where community, creativity, identity, and healing meet through the power of poetry.
A kaupapa Māori and takatāpui-centred initiative, Ruri Rongoā unfolds primarily in English, with te reo Māori woven throughout and translated when appropriate. The name itself reflects the intention: ruri is a short love poem or ditty, while rongoā speaks to medicine, nourishment, and restoration.
Each hui offers a calm and connected rhythm. Participants begin with mihimihi before reading the work of a queer Indigenous poet together, followed by a short break. The second half is devoted to writing and—if people choose—sharing their own poems. With no preparation or prior experience required, the sessions provide a low-pressure, supportive environment where takatāpui across Aotearoa and the wider world can gather, create, and strengthen one another through words.
Through collective reading, writing, and occasional guidance on performance techniques, Ruri Rongoā becomes a space of appreciation, expression, and subtle repair, a poetic oasis that honours the vulnerability, brilliance, and mana of takatāpui communities.
About the artist
Hinemoana Baker
(Raukawa, Toa Rangatira, Te Āti Awa, Kāi Tahu)
Pōneke, Aotearoa
Hinemoana Baker (Raukawa, Toa Rangatira, Te Āti Awa, Kāi Tahu, with German and English ancestry) is a celebrated poet, musician, performer, and editor based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara. Raised in Nelson and Whakatāne.
Known for her evocative language, wry humour, and deep sense of cultural and personal inquiry, Baker’s work spans poetry, performance, sound, and song. She has published multiple acclaimed collections, performed widely in Aotearoa and internationally, and contributes to creative communities as a mentor, collaborator, and facilitator.
Hinemoana joined Mana Tipua at their Noho Raumati in early 2024, where the seeds of Ruri Rongoā were planted. Inspired by the manaaki of Ngāti Wheke at Rāpaki Marae and the vision of Khye and Kahu from Mana Tipua, she developed Ruri Rongoā as a wānanga space for takatāpui to gather, read indigiqueer poetry, and respond through writing, cultivating connection, expression, and gentle healing.
Her practice is grounded in the belief that poems strengthen us: mind, heart, body, and spirit. Through Ruri Rongoā and her wider creative work, Hinemoana continues to champion the transformative, communal, and restorative force of poetry.