Image: Dunedin Public Art Gallery
Dunedin Public Art Gallery will present ‘I rongo i tō tohu – Heard your message’, a solo exhibition of new work by Ōtepoti Dunedin-based artist Georgina May Young, from 5 September to 22 November 2026. The exhibition is the third instalment of ‘Suite 2026’, the gallery’s ongoing series devoted to recent work by artists living and working in Ōtepoti Dunedin.
Young, who is of Te Ūpokorehe, Te Whakatōhea, Irish and Scottish heritage, works across weaving, embroidery and raranga. According to the gallery, the exhibition brings together practices that depend on the sharing of time, knowledge and experience. These processes provide a framework for acknowledging community, whānau and the many hands involved in maintaining creative practices across generations.
The exhibition also considers connections with te taiao and mātauranga passed down and cared for through generations. Its title, ‘I rongo i tō tohu – Heard your message’, is presented bilingually by the gallery, which is located at 30 The Octagon in Dunedin. The exhibition will be shown in the institution’s Suite 2026 programme.
A featured work is ‘Paringa – the incoming tide’ (2026), made from handwoven linen, uku from Ōhiwa and cotton thread. The gallery identifies the work as a detail image for the exhibition and credits it to Young. The listed materials place handwoven fibre and locally identified natural material at the centre of the presentation, alongside the exhibition’s wider emphasis on shared knowledge and creative continuity.
Young exhibits nationally and internationally and is regarded by Dunedin Public Art Gallery as one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s leading contemporary textile artists. The exhibition’s focus on textile processes reflects a practice in which making is connected to relationships, accumulated experience and intergenerational transmission, rather than being presented solely as an individual studio activity.
The gallery will host a kōrero with Georgina May Young on Saturday 17 October at 11am. ‘I rongo i tō tohu – Heard your message’ opens on 5 September and remains on view through 22 November 2026 as the final exhibition in the ‘Suite 2026’ series.
