In Conversation: ‘Te Ao Hurihuri’

Elizabeth Ellis (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kuta, Ngāti Porou Te Whānau-a-Takimoana, Ngāi Tane)

Tim Melville (Te Arawa, Ngāti Whakaue, Te Atiawa)

Sat 13 April

10:30am

Join us for an enlightening "In Conversation" event featuring Māori art pioneer Elizabeth Ellis CNZM and esteemed gallery owner Tim Melville (Tim Melville Gallery). Set against the backdrop of the Wairau Māori Art Gallery exhibition "Te Ao Hurihui," running from April 13th to July 28th, 2024, this event promises to explore the depths of Māori artistic heritage and the birth of contemporary Māori art.

"Te Ao Hurihui" is a collaborative effort between the Wairau Māori Art Gallery and the Whangārei Art Museum – utilising works from their significant collection. Featuring works by iconic artists such as Ralph Hotere, Kāterina Mataira, Para Matchitt, Selwyn Muru, Buck Nin, Cliff Whiting, Pauline Yearbury and Elizabeth Ellis, the exhibition celebrates the transformative period in Aotearoa's art history and the enduring legacy of visionary artists.

Join us as Elizabeth Ellis and Tim Melville delve into the stories, inspirations, and legacies behind these remarkable works of art. Don't miss this opportunity to gain insights into Māori artistic identity and how it continues to inspire today.

Tim Melville

Tim returned home in 2005 after 20 years in London where he completed a degree in Art History. He opened his Auckland dealer gallery (Tim Melville Gallery) in 2007 and is a former member of Haerewa at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki. Best known for his representation of emerging New Zealand artists Tim’s project has also introduced communities of Australian Aboriginal artists to a new audience on this side of the Tasman.

The gallery’s represented artists include painters Star Gossage (Ngāti Wai, Ngāti Ruanui), Hiria Anderson (Rereahu, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Apakura) and Alberto Garcia-Alvarez, multidisciplinary artists Salome Tanuvasa, Johl Dwyer and Areez Katki, photographer Russ Flatt (Ngāti Kahungunu), sculptor Joe Sheehan and artists from the Aboriginal communities of Warmun (WA), Warakurna Artists (NT) and Buku-Larrnggay Mulka (NT).

Elizabeth Ellis CNZM

Elizabeth Mountain Ellis was born in Kawakawa, Northland. She was one of the first Māori women to graduate from The University of Auckland’s Elam School of Fine Arts, alongside her friend and cousin Mere Harrison Lodge. In their final year, 1964, Ellis and Lodge visited North Island marae researching moko kauae (women’s chin tattoos).

Elizabeth Ellis’s life has been dedicated to promoting, developing and supporting Māori through education and the arts. She was appointed CNZM in the 2003 Queens Birthday Honours. She has served on the Council of Creative New Zealand and as a trustee of the New Zealand Arts Foundation.

For 9 years between 1994 and 2006 she was the Chair of Te Waka Toi, the Māori Arts Board of Creative New Zealand. In 1995 she formed the Haerewa Māori Advisory Board at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, leading it until the opening of the landmark ‘Toi Tui Toi Ora’ exhibition in December 2020.

Today she is Chair of the Wairau Māori Art Gallery Charitable Trust Board as well as of the Toi Iho Charitable Trust.