Inaugural Judges
Ngā Kaiwhakawā Tuatahi
Derek Lardelli
Professor Sir Derek Arana Te Ahi Lardelli KNZM (Ngāti Porou [Ngāti Konohi] and Rongowhakaata [Ngaai Te Aweawe]) is a Māori visual artist, tā moko artist, painter, carver, kapa haka performer, orator, composer, graphic designer, researcher of whakapapa and oral histories, kaikōrero and educationalist.
Sir Derek is Ahorangi at Toihoukura, School of Visual Arts Māori, in Gisborne.
His work is found in national and international institutions, public buildings and private collections. He created the Maui sculptures on his tribal mountain, Hikurangi. In 2018, he created the entranceway installation for the Ko Rongowhakaata exhibition at Te Papa.
As chairperson of Te Uhi a Mataora, a national Tā Moko Arts collective, he has been heavily involved in the retention and development of the rituals, karakia and oral histories associated with Tā Moko, and is credited with leading the renaissance of this art form.
He is a Trustee of Toi Māori Aotearoa and member of Te Papa Tongarewa's Repatriation Advisory Panel and the New Zealand Olympic Committee Māori Advisory Committee.
Sir Derek has served on the Waitangi Tribunal and was a Trustee of the New Zealand Arts Foundation.
Derek Lardelli
Ko Ahorangi Tā Derek Arana Te Ahi Lardelli KNZM (nō Ngāti Porou [Ngāti Konohi] me Rongowhakaata [Ngaai Te Aweawe]) he kaitoi whakaata Māori, he tohunga tā moko, he kai tā, he kai whakairo, he tohunga kapa haka, he mātanga whaikōrero, he kaihoahoa whakaata, he kairangahau whakapapa, he kairangahau kōrero tuku iho, he kaiako.
Ko Tā Derek te Ahorangi o Toihoukura, Te Wānanga Toi Whakaata Māori i Tūranga.
Ka kitea āna mahi ki ngā whare o te motu, o te ao, ki ngā whare matawhānui me ngā kohinga whāiti. Nāna ngā pakoko o Maui i tū ki tōna maunga tapu a Hikurangi. I te tau 2018 nāna te whakaritengā toi o te tomokanga ki te whakaaturanga o ‘Ko Rongowhakaata’ i Te Papa.
Ko ia te tiamana o Te Uhi a Mataora, te huinga kaitāmoko o te motu, kua pupuru, kua whanake i a ia ngā tikanga, ngā karakia me ngā kōrero tuku iho o te Tā Moko, nāna tētehi wāhanga nui o te pure oranga o tēnei momo toi.
He taratihi ia o Toi Māori Aotearoa, he mema hoki o Te Pae Tohutohu o Karanga Aotearoa i raro i Te Papa Tongarewa, he mema anō ia o Te Komiti Tohutohu Māori ki Te Komiti Ōripia o Aotearoa.
Kua noho a Tā Derek ki Te Taratura o Waitangi, kua noho anō hoki hei Taratihi o Te Tumu Toi o Aotearoa.
Lisa Reihana
Lisa Reihana (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hine, Ngāi Tū), and lives and works in Auckland. Reihana represented New Zealand in 2017 at the Venice Biennale. She was a nominated artist in Walters Prize 2016 for "In Pursuit of Venus [infected]", 2015, which was first exhibited at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki in 2015.
Lisa has an extensive exhibition history including her solo exhibition Native Portraits at MLAC, Italy; Global Feminisms, Brooklyn Museum; the Asia-Pacific Triennial, Queensland Art Gallery, Australia; the Liverpool Biennale, UK; Pasifika Styles, Cambridge, UK. Digital Marae, shown at Govett-Brewster Art Gallery in New Plymouth in 2007, was shortlisted for the Walters Prize 2008 and Anne Landa Art Award, AGNSW, Sydney.
Digital Marae 2001 employed large scale photography, short videos and aural soundscapes to create an environment which is a culturally rich meditation on Māori in modern times. This work has been shown extensively and continues to garner international renown. She is renowned for several important early digital animations and film works including Wog Features, 1990 and A Māori Dragon Story, 1995.
Lisa’s work is held in private and public collections including Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington; Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland; Australia National Gallery, Canberra; Staatliche Museum, Berlin; Susan O’Connor Foundation, Texas and Brooklyn Museum, New York. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Elam School of Fine Arts, Auckland University and a Masters in Design from UNITEC School of Visual Art and Design.
Lisa Reihana
Ko Lisa Reihana (nō Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hine, Ngāi Tū) e noho ana, e mahi ana ki roto o Tāmaki. I te tau 2017 ko Reihana te kanohi o Aotearoa ki te ahurei Venice Biennale. I tohua ia ki te Tohu Walters i te tau 2016 moo tāna mahi ‘In Pursuit of Venus’ i whakaatu tuatahi ki te Toi O Tāmaki i te tau 2015.
Kua roa a Lisa e whakaatu toi ana me āna mahi o Native Portraits i te MLAC i Itari; o Global Feminisms i Te Whare Taonga o Brooklyn; o Asia-Pacific Triennial i Te Whare Whakaatu Toi o Queensland i Ahitereiria; i te Liverpool Biennale i Ingarangi; o Pacific Styles i Kēmureti i Ingarangi; o Digital Marae i Te Whare Whakaatu Toi o Govett-Brewster i Ngāmotu i te tau 2007; i eke ia ki te tohu whāiti o te Tohu Walters me te Tohu Toi o Anne Landa i te AGNSW i Poihākena.
I roto i te whakaaturanga Digital Marae o te tau 2001 ngā whakaahua nunui, ngā kiriata poto me ngā kaponga reo e ara ake he momo ahurea whakahirahira e pā ana ki ngā Māori o mohoa nei. Ka nui te whakaatu haere o tēnei mahi, ā, e hōnoretia ana e ngā iwi o te ao. Ka puta hoki tana rongo mō ētehi mahi hangarau pakiwaituhi me ngā kiriata ko Wog Features o te tau 1990 tētehi, ko A Māori Dragon Story o te tau 1995 tētehi atu.
E tiaki ana ngā mahi toi a Reihana ki ngā kohinga matawhānui me ngā kohinga matawhāiti ki Te Papa Tongarewa i Te Whanganui-a-Tara; ki Te Whare Whakaatu Toi o Tāmaki; ki Te Whare Whakaatu-a-Motu o Ahitereiria i Canberra; ki Te Whare Taonga o Staatliche i Berlin; ki te Susan O’Connor Foundation i Texas me Te Whare Taonga o Brooklyn i New York. Kua eke a Reihana ki te Tohu Paetahi mō Ngā Toi Hihira mai i Te Kura Toi Hihira o Elam i Te Whare Wānanga o Tāmaki, kua eke hoki ki Te Tohu Paerua Hoahoa mai i Te Kura Toi Whakaata me te Hoahoa i UNITECH.
Kura Te Waru Rewiri
Kura Te Waru Rewiri (Ngati Pakahi ki Ngati Kahu, Ngapuhi-nui-tonu, Ngati Kauwhata ki Ngati Raukawa) is one of Aotearoa New Zealand's most celebrated Māori women artists. Kura has taught art in schools, tertiary institutions, Whare Wananga and universities, including Massey’s Toioho ki Āpiti from 1996 - 2006.
She is an experienced painter, studying fine art at Ilam School of Fine Arts and joining Ngā Tamatoa Māori activist group, which provided the incentive for her to address the issues related to Te Tiriti O Waitangi in her paintings.
Kura assisted the first cultural exchange with Hawaiian artists under the auspices of Māori Arts and South Pacific Arts Council and was a founding member of the Te Atinga Committee, Toi Māori.
In 1990 she received a Queen Elizabeth’s Arts Council Grant to produce work based on the 150 years commemoration of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi.
During her time teaching at Toioho ki Āpiti she became the first to achieve the masters in Māori visual arts. She also helped set up the Te Whare Wānanga O Awanuiarangi Bachelor of Māori Art in Whakatāne.
Kura has been a key contributor to contemporary Māori exhibitions around the world; she has had numerous solo shows with Ferner Galleries in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, and her paintings are held in prestigious international collections as well as being documented in many books, including the monograph 'Kura Te Waru Rewiri’.
Kura Te Waru Rewiri
He mātanga māreikura toi a Kura Te Waru Rewiri (Ngati Pakahi ki Ngati Kahu, Ngapuhi-nui-tonu, Ngati Kauwhata ki Ngati Raukawa) ki Aotearoa. Kua whakaakona e ia ki ngā kura, ngā wānanga me ngā Whare Wānanga, matua rā ki Toioho ki Āpiti i Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa mai i te 1996 ki te 2006.
He mātanga kaipeita ia, i ako i Te Kura Toi Hihira o Ilam, ka hono hoki ia ki te rōpū whakatumatuma o Ngā Tama Toa, nā konei ka tahuri ki te whakaatu i Te Tiriti o Waitangi ki āna mahi toi.
Nā Kura te āwhina i ngā whitiwhiti kaitoi ki Hawaii i raro i te Kaunihera Toi Māori me Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa. Ko ia anō tētehi mema tuatahi o te Komiti o Te Atinga o Toi Māori.
I te tau 1990 i whakawhiwhia ia ki te Tohu Pūtea a Te Kaunihera Toi o Kuini Irihāpeti e puta ai ngā toi e pā ana ki te 150 tau o Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
I a ia e whakaako ana i Toioho ki Āpiti, ko ia tuatahi kia eke ki te taumata tohu paerua mō te Toi Whakaata Māori. Nāna anō i āwhina kia tū ai te Tohu Paetahi Toi Whakaata ki Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiarangi i Whakatāne.
Kua urungia ngā mahi Toi a Kura ki ngā whakaaturanga toi puta noa i te ao; ka nui hoki ngā whakaaturanga takitahi ki Ferner Galleries i Tāmaki, i Te Whanganui-a-Tara, i Ōtautahi. E mau ana āna peita ki ngā kohinga whakahirahira, ka kitea hoki ki ngā pukapuka huhua tae noa ki tāna tuhinga toi e karangatia nei ko ‘Kura Te Waru Rewiri’.