Dr Rangihiroa Panoho
Auckland, AUCKLAND
Māori artist/writer passionate about helping local and global audiences gain a deeper understanding of NZ history and Māori Art in its Asia/Pacific context
MessagePanoho began his training in Fine Arts in 1980, studied art history and pioneered 2 Māori University of Auckland theses, an MA with 1st Class Honours with a thesis entitled 'DEVELOPMENTS in MAORI ART' (1988) and a Phd dissertation, 'MAORI ART in CONTINUUM' (2001). He worked as the first Māori art curator in a NZ gallery (Sarjeant Gallery, Whanganui 1988-1991), taught one of the first degree focused programmes on contemporary Māori, Pacific and indigenous art theory(School of Design, Wellington) and was a fully tenured lecturer in Māori and Pacific art history (University of Auckland 1996-2008). From 2010 Panoho returned to his art practice and has had a number of exhibitions in and outside Auckland in public galleries and community spaces. In 2015 he published a multi-award winning book 'MAORI ART: History, Landscape, Architecture and Theory' with Craftsman House, Auckland NZ, He uses art, poetry, hapū experiences and indigenous cosmologies to suggest more meaningful conversations with cultural identity, historical narratives and with the natural environment. In the 'Tāne Motumotu' series of 2023, for example, he explores some of the ancestral wānanga ‘narratives’ surrounding native plants, birds and trees. Panoho argues that the challenge with key issues affecting our planet, like global warming, is not just about meeting global or governmental objectives, but rather about human relationships with nature. Indigenous peoples see the members of te ao tūroa ‘the natural world’ as family and genealogy. How we listen to nature, how humans build knowledge and experience around seeing and interpreting the realm of TĀNE, in the native habitats but also in the urban environment is important. A CV with a full list of publications, exhibitions curated and artist exhibitions available on this link