Revolting!

Upper Hutt Posse

New Zealand’s rich history of protest music is featured in an exhibition designed to be seen and heard, at the Alexander Turnbull Library in Wellington.

Revolting! The Sound of Protest in Aotearoa presents images of five pivotal protest movements, in the form of posters, video, albums and photos from the Turnbull’s rich collections.

“More importantly it presents the music of the protests,” said Matt Steindl, the curator of the exhibition. ”Songs play a crucial part in our protest movements; both as a means of bring people together, and also as a way of making dissenting voices heard loud and clear. So it makes sense that songs like 1981! And E tū are at the heart of the exhibition.”

Music plays throughout the exhibition space and five sound stations allow visitors to pick from playlists associated with pivotal protests, including nuclear testing, the Springbok tour and Parihaka.

“It’s appropriate that we’re opening this during New Zealand Music Month and that we’re holding it in the Turnbull Library, home to the Archive of New Zealand Music, and the world’s largest collection of New Zealand music,” Matt Steindl said.

Revolting! The Sound of Protest in Aotearoa runs from 27 May – 20 July at the Turnbull Gallery, 1st Floor, National Library of New Zealand, Molesworth St, Wellington.

From Waateanews.com - " Curator Matt Steindl says songs play a crucial part in our protest movements, both as a means of bringing people together, and also as a way of making dissenting voices heard. He says the tino rangatiratanga section was particularly rich.

"That includes music starting with the reggae bands around Wellington like Dread Beat and Blood and Aotearoa and then through the 80s with Upper Hutt Posse and then the 90s with Moana Maniapoto, right through to last year’s Conscious Uprising CD which was a bunch of artists raising money for the Urewera raids and the trial that Tame Iti and his crew were going through," Mr Steindl says."

A series of panel discussions on aspects of New Zealand protest music is running alongside the exhibition. The next is 6pm, Friday June 7th at the National Library and features artist John Lake, activist Sam Buchanan and protest singer Don Franks; entry is free.