Alison Leauanae, Gary Silipa, Linda Va’aelua and Siliga David Setoga
WE WERE HERE
26 April – 20 May 2023
Gentrification has and will continue to change the face of our city, whether for better or worse.
‘Samoa House Lane’, speaks of a people’s presence from times past. The heart of first-generation migrants. A thriving Urban Polynesian village for church, shops, markets, and gatherings.
We Were Here is part nostalgia, part commemoration.
What happens when the colour and heart is steadily pushed out to the furthest bounds of the city?
Alison Leauanae, Gary Silipa, Linda Va’aelua and Siliga David Setoga, all second-generation Samoan migrants to Tamaki Makaurau Auckland, explore the importance of K’Rd and its surroundings as their peoples first landing place.




















