Kaaterina Kerekere
Te Aitanga a Hauiti, Ngati Porou, Ngai Tamanuhiri, Rangitane, Ngati Kahungunu ki Wairarapa, Ngai Tahu
Over the years my work has shifted to reflect a more of an intimate relationship and connection with self and environment. Living and working on my ancestral land in Tolaga Bay, Gisborne, New Zealand, connection to the land has been important fibers interweaving, people and place. Through a multidisciplinary expression, my work moves from painting, sculpture, fine metal adornment and digital media. Combining repetitive layers of line work, patterns, and imagery, fusing traditional iwi (tribe) and hapū (subtribe) art and design foundations with modern symbolism, my work looks to echo narratives and concepts of learning styles, conditioning the mind to learn, to retain, to explore, to reimagine.
Creativity and Innovation of creative spaces plays an important role in learning, transmission of learning, and therefore the bringing together of people. Creativity can provide foundation. Provide voice. Bring forth awareness. Activate healing. Grow leadership.
Through my art, I explore the transmission of mātauranga Māori (ancestral knowledge), including whakapapa (genealogy), pūrākau (ancestral narratives), and traditional design practices. My work often employ layered lines, shape, form, patterns, and motifs to encode and communicate these stories across different media.
For me, the essence of art lies not only in the finished object but in the process itself—the act of creating, reimagining, reframing, and innovating. Her practice emphasizes the intangible knowledge embedded within ‘making’, highlighting how ancestral wisdom continues to shape contemporary expression.
Transmission of knowledge is an important development and survival of people, place and culture. Social practice layers my work and projects, offering varied opportunities for engagement and experience. My current exploration includes augmented and virtual reality.
Selected Exhibitions, Projects and
Residencies
2026
April – June 2026
The Space Between US
Fondation Fiminco and University of Winnipeg
Romainville, Paris
January
Te Whiti International Indigenous Art Gathering and Exhibition
Toihoukura, Eastern Institute of Technology, Gisborne,
New Zealand
2025
November 2025 – March 2026
Waerenga-a-Hika 150 year Commemoration Exhibition
Tairāwhiti Museum, Gisborne, New. Zealand
October – December 2025
Evergreen Longhouse 30 year Commemoration Exhibition
Evergreen State College, Washington State, USA
2024
April
Takiwā Hou: Imagining New Spaces
Te Tuhi Gallery at maltabiennale.art
Spazju Kreattiiv, Malta
2023
October
Firenze Biennale
Tāhū (New Zealand Contemporary Māori Art Collective) Florence, Italy
2022
Tohu Whakatipu
Wairau Art Gallery, Whangarei, New Zealand
July
Ahi Toi
Selected Artist for Sandy Adsett Tribute Exhibition
July - Pataka Wellington, New Zealand
Dec 2021 - March 2022
Be the Taniwha - Dual Exhibition
Tairāwhiti Museum, Gisborne, New Zealand
2021
August
Evergreen Longhouse 25th Anniversary Exhibition Evergreen Longhouse, Washington State, USA
2020
April 2020
Ā-Mua: New Lineages of Making
Dowse Museum, Wellington, New Zealand
Nuit Blanche - Nuit in Your Neighbour hood Online International Exhibition
Te Māramatanga Aoaonui
Toi Māori Aotearoa Galllery Wellington, New Zealand
Tuakana Taina
Tairāwhiti Museum, Gisborne, New Zealand
2019
Native Voices - Ko au, Ko Matou
Tairawhiti Museum, Gisborne, New Zealand
Rangiwaho ihu ki te Moana Installation
Pacific Encounters Gallery, National Maritime Museum Royal Museums, Greenwich, United Kingdom
2014 Jan - Feb
Nga Uri o Tangaroa
Gallery Iolani, Kaneohe, Hawaii
1999 - 2008
2008 Kauwae - Mäori Women Artist Collective Mangere Arts Centre, Auckland, New Zealand
2008 Takitimu Art Festival Exhibition
Hawkes’ Bay Exhibition Centre, Hastings, New Zealand
2008 Bloodlines, Contemporary Māori Art
Academy Galleries, NZ Academy of Fine Arts, Wellington, New Zealand
2007 PULSE, Indigenous Bloodlines
Academy Galleries, NZ Academy of Fine Arts, Wellington, New Zealand
Creative Awards and Achievements
2023
Florence Biennale, Art & Design
Firenze, Italy
4th International Prize Winner - New Media
2023
Tairāwhiti Civic Award Recipient
Services to Māori Art
Gisborne District Council Gisborne, New Zealand.
2022
FIMI Global Leadership School of Indigenous Women
2022 Best Design Awards - Finalist
Takuahiroa
2020
Creative New Zealand - Leadership NZ Scholarship NZ Leadership Development Programme
1999
Ngā Karahipi a Te Waka Toi Scholarship
(Creative New Zealand)
1998
Rosemary Middleton Scholarship, Tairāwhiti, Gisborne