Join us for an evening of listening: poetry, prose, and electronic performance. This event will feature readings by writer and performer Ada Duffy, artist and writer Terri Te Tau, followed by a live performance of Department Press Briefings (currently exhibited in Peal the Bells) by artist Mo H. Zareei. The title of the event, Kī Mai, tell me, say to me, emphasises direct address and the role of the listener. From poetry to prose to sound, across these works text, voice and language are drawn on as primary material, prompting different modes of listening.


Ada Duffy (Kāi Tahu, Pākehā (Irish) and Indo-Fijian) is a writer and performer based in Ōtepoti Dunedin. Their work is sustained by conversations with the whenua, mostly with their feet firm in/on Te Waipounamu. Having completed an MA in Creative Writing at the International Institute of Modern Letters (IIML), Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington in 2025, they are currently working on their first poetry collection about Kāi Tahutaka and takatāpuitaka. Recent projects include, curating and performing in a Kāi Tahu poetry showcase alongside Hinemoana Baker, Liam Jacobson, Josiah Morgan, and Dr Ruby Solly for Kia Mau Festival, and featuring in Long Exposure a poetry event curated by Poet Laureate Chris Tse at Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery. Their words can be found in Landfall, Starling and Turbine | Kapohau.

Terri Te Tau (Ngāti Kahungunu, Rangitāne ki Wairarapa) is a writer and artist, and the 2026 Emerging Māori Writer in Residence at the IIML, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington. Te Tau is a member of the art collective Mataaho, whose work won the Golden Lion at the 2024 Venice Biennale. She holds a PhD in Creative Arts from Massey University completed in 2015. Te Tau’s research centers on connections between customary and historical Māori narratives, science, speculative fiction and the environment. Her writing has appeared in a range of publications, and her short story Hīkoi Whetū won the Emerging Māori category of the Sunday Star Times short story competition in 2024. Te Tau’s first novel, a speculative and historical fiction titled The Valley of Unlikely Acquaintances, is scheduled for publication with Spoor Books in 2026.

Mo H. Zareei (aka mHz) is a sound artist and researcher based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington. Working across physical and digital media, he uses reduced, elemental materials to transform the conceptual underpinnings of his work into visceral, immediate experiences. He holds a BSc in Physics from Shahid Beheshti University of Tehran, a BFA in Music Technology from CalArts, and a PhD in Sonic Arts from Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington. As mHz, Zareei has published records via Room40 (Australia), LINE (US), Important Records (US), and leerraum (Switzerland). Zareei has presented work at venues including ACMI (Melbourne), Brisbane Powerhouse, PST Art (Los Angeles), Vancouver Art Gallery, York Art Gallery, Modern Body Festival (The Hague), SETxCTM Festival (Tehran), and in Aotearoa New Zealand at Whangārei Art Museum and Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery.