Tumu Whakahaere
Board

Elizabeth is an advocate of Māori arts and culture. She initiated Haerewa, Toi o Tamaki, Auckland Art Gallery in 1994 and as Chair, she led delegations to Berlin, Pilsen and San Francisco with the Lindauer Māori Portraits exhibition. She resigned in late 2020.

She is Chair of the Wairau Māori Art Gallery Charitable Trust since 2017 and was of its forerunner, Māori Advisory Panel since 2012. Since 2010, she has also served as Chair of the Toi Iho Charitable Trust. She is a Life Member of the Auckland Institute and Museum 1964 and an inaugural Trustee on the Judith Binney Trust Te Toimairangi o Te Aroha since 2013.

Elizabeth graduated from Elam School of Fine Arts, The University of Auckland. She was on the New Zealand Arts Foundation for seven years; CNZ Council three years and Chair of Te Waka Toi, the Māori Arts Board of CNZ nine years (1994–2006); NZ Representative on the Council of Pacific Arts and Culture, SPC Noumea 1996-2006 when she led the NZ delegations with Dame Te Atairangikahu to Samoa, New Caledonia and the Republic of Palau.

She was on the International Federation of Arts Councils and Cultural Agencies (1999-2006).

Elizabeth’s professional background is in Art Education from 1966 and Education Evaluation (1990-2013).

Graduating from Massey University in 2009 with a Bachelor of Visual Communication, Larissa (Ngapuhi, Te Parawhau) later obtained a Certificate in Film and Television Production from the NZ Film School and a Diploma in Art and Creativity from The Learning Connexion in 2015.

 Her career in film includes roles as an Art Director and Production Designer, contributing to the award-winning "Traces of Nut," which secured top honours at the 2013 48 Hours film competition. Larissa is also a recognized street artist, celebrated for vibrant works across Aotearoa, earning her the "Most Colourful Show" award at the Fringe Awards.

Beyond visual arts, Larissa is a published poet featured in various publications, including Ora Nui and He Puna Wai Korero. Her creative passion extends to music publications, demonstrating unwavering support for independent radio as a local DJ. Currently, as Te Ringa Hautu Toi/Director at the Wairau Māori Art Gallery, Whangarei, Larissa advocates passionately for Maori artists and culture, playing pivotal roles in the gallery's success.

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Moana Maniapoto (MNZM) is an award-winning singer, songwriter, documentary maker and leader of the band Moana & the Tribe. A founding trustee of Toi Iho and Māori Music Industry Coalition, Moana advocated for the APRA Maioha Award Art Laureate (NZ Arts Foundation).

Host, associate producer and a reporter for ‘Te Ao with Moana’ (Whakaata Māori), she was the Supreme Award winner of the 2020 Ngā Kupu Ora Māori Journalism Awards. Her show won both Best Current Affairs Series at the Voyager Media Awards for both 2021 and 2022.

She is a co-convenor of Ngā Toki Whakarururanga, an entity set up to establish a new tiriti-focused leadership model that will enable meaningful influence by Māori throughout free trade negotiations..

Bob is the Professor of Māori Visual Arts at Massey University’s Whiti o Rehua School of Art at Massey University. He became an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services t0 Māori and indigenous art and education in the 2016 Honours list. In 2018 he was awarded the Massey University medal for individual research, and he was the recipient of the Wallace Arts Trust Paramount Award in 2019. In 2020 he received the Te Papa Rongomaraeroa Award for his contribution to Te Ao Māori. In 2021 he became a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand for contribution to research. In the same year he was awarded an ANZAAE Premier Award for ‘Sustained leadership, outstanding service, and contributions to research in art education’.

He contributes to Māori Development through his teaching at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels, his research into traditional Māori carving, and his academic writing straddling art education, contemporary and traditional Māori art, and identity politics.

Bob is also a practising artist.

Hemi is a highly respected artist and educator, who graduated from the prestigious Māori Visual Arts programme at Te Pūtahi-a-Toi, Massey University in Palmerston North, and is currently an Associate Professor with Whiti o Rehua School of Art at Massey University. 

Throughout his career, Hemi has contributed to the New Zealand arts arena with a particular focus on the field of Māori arts. Hemi is a former committee member for Te Atinga Māori Arts under Toi Māori and contributed to the establishment of the Ngaru Rua Rangatahi initiative, 

He was also a member of the Wellington Sculpture Trust Advisory Group and currently is working with local secondary schools in the Wellington region through the Ahurea Māori programme and Creatives in Schools initiative to provide Matauranga Māori art engagement.

Sandy has had a hugely successful national and international career as an artist and educator. He is a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit 2005 and was conferred an Honorary Doctorate by Massey University 2014. He received Te Tohu o Te Papa Tongarewa Rongomaraeroa award in the 2018, a prestigious Te Waka Toi Award. In 2020 he was named an Icon – Whakamanawa Hiranga, of the Arts Foundation of New Zealand 2020, an honour limited to 20 living New Zealanders. Sandy served as a member of Te Waka Toi, CNZ for many years and was instrumental in fostering links with indigenous artists through exhibitions, residencies and workshops. He was Chair of the contemporary art group, Te Atinga, in the Toi Māori collective.

He has been a Toi Iho Trustee since 2010.

Ana is the Director of Pātaka Art + Museum in Porirua.

Ana’s experience spans the arts of politics, and the politics of art. Before working at Pātaka, Ana worked at Parliament where she was a senior advisor in the Prime Minister’s office during the Ardern administration. Before that, Ana worked at Creative New Zealand in the international team connecting high-quality arts and artists with global markets and audiences, through touring, relationship building and collaborative projects, including cultural and artistic exchange. She also helped establish the First Nations Exchange Programme with leading Maori producers and curators from across Aotearoa.

Ana holds a Masters in Museum and Heritage Studies from Victoria University of Wellington and a Diploma in Art and Design from Te Wānanga o Raukawa.

She recently co-edited Ka Mua, Ka Muri: 25 Years of Pātaka and is an active member in her own hapū language and arts development including te ao haka.

Kereama is a contemporary Māori artist who creates artwork based on customary Māori artforms with a technological twist.

Taepa’s works are informed by customary Māori art forms and conventions yet use digital technologies to explore Te Ao Matihiko and its relationship to Te Ao Māori. Kereama lectured in Art & Design for over 15 years, and is also a trustee of Te Tuhi Mareikura Trust.