✨ Sparkle Bomb 2026 - Opening week with Maungarongo Te Kawa ✨
- Jun 19
- 3 min read
Sparkle Bomb is one of Home Ground's most special kaupapa, created in honour of our beloved co-founder Anita, our forever Sparkle Bomb Queen, and made possible by the generous support of the Patil family.
Designed for wāhine impacted by the justice system or navigating big life challenges, Sparkle Bomb brings us together through creative workshops, community connection, and the kind of magic that happens when people feel truly seen.
This year's five weeks were full of crowns, tears, laughter, purākau, taonga puoro and more sparkle than we knew what to do with. We were joined by three extraordinary artists - Maungarongo Te Kawa, Te Kahureremoa, and Māni, alongside the legendary Robyn Kahukiwa, whose mahi will forever be so powerful for all of us.
This is our reflection on what we made, what we felt, and what we're carrying forward.
For Anita. Always. 💖
Sparkle Bomb opening week with Maungarongo Te Kawa - 12, 13, 14 May, 2026
Sparkle Bomb 2026 kicked off on the 12th May with the super genius, pāuafull, inspiring art hero - Maungarongo Te Kawa. We were lucky enough to have Ron with us for three days in the Home Ground whare creating crowns, sashes, Ron-a-fying handmade pōtae and kākahu, and generally making everything sparkle a little harder.
Over the first week we had around 20 incredible wāhine and one three legged chihuahua move through the HG whare. That includes wāhine who participated, created, Home Ground kaimahi, and community mates who dropped in for a hang, a kōrero, or just to soak up the sparkly vibes.
It was a massive few days full of love, bling, reflection, inspo, laughs, hot glue gun adventures, and most of all, connection. Ron makes it so easy, so fun, so engaging - he brings this go hard and bring the brightness energy to creating that makes you genuinely feel like you could be just like him - fabulous, funny, creative, and all round legend. And Ron’s stories… so many incredible stories woven through every taonga he creates, every exhibition, residency, artist, friend and piece of mahi. We love a good story at Home Ground, and Ron hooks us in and mesmerizes us every time with his kōrero.
Here are some on point reflections and words shared by those who took part in the three days with Ron…
LOVE IS AT THE CENTRE OF EVERYTHING
“You’re never alone in the universe,you can always call outto who and what you want.”
- said Ron.
Three sparkly days inside the Home Ground whare, armed with glue guns, crowns, sequins, sashes, pōtae, soup, samosas, incredible wāhine, and one three-legged chihuahua who understood the assignment completely.
✨SPARKLE BOMB!✨
Not just art.
Not just crowns, sashes, sparkles and glitter.
We created our own hinatore.Tiny, curious, bright, sparkly lights.The kind you can carry into the dark bits.
“Love is at the centre of everything.”
- Ron said that too.
And somehow by day three it was stitched/hot glue gunned into all of us!
Crowning Glory. Miss Coolness. Aroha Highness.
“Aroha is the only high I’ve got left.”
Mana-festing. Mana wāhine. Miss Possible. Miss Understood. Hot Mess. Bright. Grounded. Whimsy. Protected.
Reciprocity. Funny. Powerful. Sparkly.
FREEDOM & TRANSFORMATION
“My word is many because there’s not one word for me.”
We are many.
Wāhine relighting fires. Finding flow, finding big courage, choosing big colours and shapes creating calmly while absolutely not calm inside.
“You all queens, don’t forget it. Own it.”
- said Ron again.
AND Mission Impossible arrived.
SHE’S ARRIVED.
Lighting the fuse. Breaking rules. Lighting shit up for all of us.
Shes become our kaitiaki - on loan. A reminder that even when life feels impossible,we still get back up. Still return to the mission. Still show up sparkly somehow.
She has been gifted a new name,
from Mission Impossible, she became....
✨SPARKLE BOMB✨
“There’s always people waiting for you on the other side.”
- said Ron about his mate and his art.
So we keep creating
Keep crowning each other
Keep lighting the fuse
Keep finding Hinatore in dark places
Love at the centre. Always.
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