Leading Māori artist and NorthTec arts tutor, Kura Te Waru-Rewiri, has been inducted into the Hall of Fame at Massey University’s College of Creative Arts.
Kura, said to be one of Aotearoa's most celebrated female Māori artists, was inducted as part of the college's 130th-anniversary celebrations in Wellington.
She was invited to be inducted "in recognition of your significant contribution to art in New Zealand as an artist, educator and academic."
Kura spent 10 years lecturing at Toioho ki Apiti Māori Visual Arts School, on Massey’s Palmerston North Campus, from 1996 to 2006.
Pro Vice-Chancellor of the College of Creative Arts, Claire Robinson says she is proud of Kura's tireless efforts.
Kura said this week she was “still on cloud nine” and was receiving congratulations from her family, her marae and members of her iwi and hapū.
She says, “It was such an honour and very humbling. The acknowledgement to me was my contribution to the arts nationally, not just as a Māori artist but as an artist and arts educator.”
She joins the likes of artists Manos Nathan and Len Lye, Sir Richard Taylor of Weta Workshop and fashion designer Kate Sylvester in the Hall of Fame.
It was established in 2007 to celebrate alumni who have made an outstanding contribution to New Zealand’s economy, reputation and identity through art, music and design.
Kura graduated from Canterbury University’s Ilam School of Fine Arts in 1973, before becoming a teacher. She has taught at secondary schools and tertiary colleges as well as working as a practising artist.
Her paintings are held in prestigious collections such as Wellington’s Te Papa Museum, Auckland Art Gallery, Waikato Museum of Art & History, Dunedin Art Gallery, The University of Auckland and the National Art Gallery of Australia in Canberra. She has also twice had her artwork selected for the NZ Post Matariki stamp collection.
Kura is currently the senior lecturer for NorthTec’s Bachelor of Māori Art degree programme (Maunga Kura Toi).
