Tāwera Tahuri (Ngā Ariki Kaipūtahi, Whakatōhea, Ngāti Uenuku, Tūwharetoa)

August 2022

Tāwera Tahuri is a mixed media artist covering a wide range of mediums and techniques. Influenced by the work of artist’s such as Basquiat, Klee, Picasso, Kura Te Waru Rewiri and Emere Karaka, she has produced a prolific amount of work throughout her artistic career. A  mother of six children grandmother of four, and is actively involved in her community as an artist, activist, teacher, and performer.

Her seven-piece mixed media sculptural installation, exhibited in Florence, Italy, entitled “Tamanui. Seven Generations” is inspired by her iwi (Tribe) and the recent revival her people have experienced. Their Treaty Of Waitangi land Claim WAI 507 has been an integral part of this revitalization and this has been the basis of her recent bodies of work.

The Seventh Generation principle is an important component of the people of Tamanui (the eponymous ancestor of Ngā Ariki Kaipūtahi) as it serves not only as a reminder of the wrongs of the past but also the hopes and aspirations of the future seven generations.
Her involvement as an exhibiting artist in the Florence Biennale, Italy has opened doors for Tāwera who now has an active exhibition calendar nationally and internationally.

In 2012 Tāwera returned with her husband also a visual and performing artist to Evergreen State University in Olympia Washington State USA for another 6 week residency. They both completed an earlier residency there in 2010.

Tāwera is passionate about fresh water ways and is actively involved in the care and maintenance of sacred waterways and takes her role as a ‘kaitiaki’ or guardian seriously. Ko au te wai, ko te wai ko au. I am the water and the water is me.

Tāwera stood proudly in solidarity at Standing Rock North Dakota, and continues to stand today. Mni wiconi! Water is life!

As a board member for The Seventh Generation Fund For Indigenous Peoples, Tāwera is committed to indigenous issues across the world and proudly represents her peoples alongside her wider indigenous family.