Kaimahi with Cool Hobbies—Tereinamu Hakopa

You might recognise Tereinamu Hakopa as one of the friendly kaimahi at Te Punaka Ōwheo.

You might have also seen one of her paintings on display during the Tōku Tūnga Ki Tēnei Wahi: My Place in This Place exhibition in The Hub last year.

Tereinamu has always been creative, from making vision boards to creating and editing vlogs. But in 2021 she had a conversation that pushed her in a new direction.

“My cousin teaches level 3 art at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa,” Tereinamu explains. “It was the mid-year break and she was looking for more students. I said, ‘I’ll be your student!’ and I got online and enrolled while we were still on the phone.”

That course, Toi Maruata, is an introduction to several kinds of mahi toi, including weaving, carving and painting, understanding tohu and creating kōwhaiwhai. The class is a taste tester for potential artistic avenues to pursue. Tereinamu gravitated towards painting, and continued into Kawai Raupapa, the level 4 certificate course, where she continued to learn about and explore the skills and tikanga of visual arts.

“When I’m painting I feel like I can see, I have direction. What I’m doing has purpose. I enjoy the problem-solving of conceptualising a painting then figuring out how to put it on canvas. And if I can’t figure it out, I can ask, I can investigate. I love the research and the application of learning.”

Joining an art class also helped Tereinamu remove some of the barriers around her own artmaking.

“When I started, I was concerned about getting everything wrong, thinking ‘I can’t do that.’ By the time I continued into the level 4 certificate, I had the confidence to play, to make mistakes, to experiment—sometimes mistakes are how you figure out how to make something work.”

Tereinamu completed Kawai Raupapa, level 4 in 2022, and then finished her level 5 certificate, Toi Paematua, in 2023. As her body of work developed, Tereinamu had the opportunity to participate in an exhibition alongside her classmates.

A selection of Tereinamu's artworks on display.

After that exhibition, Tereinamu was asked to contribute a piece to the Tōku Tūnga Ki Tēnei Wahi: My Place in This Place exhibition.

“It was humbling to be asked. The exhibition was about a sense of belonging, and every piece in the exhibition had a depth that could not always be seen but could be felt. It was also a bit weird to have this other side of me on display in my workplace.”

When not making art for class assignments, Tereinamu often uses art as a way of making gifts for important people in her life. She engages in a process of learning about that person, observing them and responding to their values. 

“I might watch outfits to develop a colour palette for that person. I listen, and I find out what’s important to them. Then I create layers to represent different aspects of that person. I like the research, the story, the why of painting.”

Tereinamu is currently at the beginning stages of several pieces and is letting the art take its time to develop. Her process involves a lot of thinking about a piece outside of the time she’s working on it, letting connections form between the intention of the artwork and everything else she notices as she goes about her day.

“I currently am thinking about the colours of autumn—I had a friend pass away last year and I want to do something for him.

“I also still have a kōwhaiwhai to finish.”

Kaimahi with Cool Hobbies is an ongoing, occasional series to celebrate the awesome things we do outside of work. If you are a kaimahi with a cool hobby and would like to be featured, please contact Claire at claire.lacey@op.ac.nz