Creative Response: Hana Buchanan

Hana Buchanan (Ngāti Haumia ki Te Aro, Taranaki iwi, Te Atiawa, Taranaki Whānui ki te Upoko o te Ika) is a tangata toikupu - poet, kaikaranga, kaitito waiata - living and writing from her ancestral lands in Te Whanganui-a-Tara. Her toikupu-poetry collection Kupu Whenua comes into te ao marama soon through publication with Steele Roberts, 29 March 2026.

he kanikani rangi – dancing in the skies

in the first hour of the performance arcade 2026

a karakia rises from the stage —

each kupu encapsulated in its own air pocket and

carried across the takiwā of Te Aro —

a balme for those who receive

in the first hour of the performance arcade 2026

a gathering energy, a culmination, a coming together,

an anticipation —

hā ki roto nei…. kuku te manawa

breathe in…. hold, hold, hold

Te Kahureremoa performed on Wednesday evening.

te tangi a kōauau

te kōrero a kōhatu

te tātākī a pīwakawaka mā

te reo tawhito, nō te kōpū i ahu mai

in the first hour of the performance arcade 2026

we are blessed by taonga pūoro —

hā ki waho —

we exhale…. long, slow and deep

in the first hour of the performance arcade 2026

a shark-formed-in-cloud floats above us

a magenta light illuminates the pōhutukawa

a single leaf settles amongst blades of grass in motion

seagulls glide and soar

our Tamatea moon glows—

expect the unexpected

PA2026 —

he nohoanga whenua

he haerenga moana

he kanikani rangi

rooted in this land

travelling the oceans

dancing in the skies

nā Hana Buchanan i tito (25-27 Huitanguru 2026) composed by Hana Buchanan for the Performance Arcade 2026