DEPOT Shop | Toi Toa Maker of the Month for July 2026 is Keri-Mei Zagrobelna.
Each month, DEPOT Shop | Toi Toa highlights one of the talented makers whose work is available in our gallery shop. For July 2026, we are proud to feature contemporary Māori artist Keri-Mei Zagrobelna.
Contemporary Māori artist creating jewellery and public art that invites people to connect with whakapapa (genealogy), connection and place.
Before Keri-Mei Zagrobelna tells a story, she invites you to look a little closer.
Of Te Āti Awa and Te Whānau-ā-Apanui descent, Keri-Mei works across jewellery, public art, sculpture, moving image and installation. Whether creating a handwoven silver pendant or contributing to a large-scale public artwork, her practice encourages people to connect with the histories, relationships and knowledge held within people and place.
Keri-Mei is interested in creating work that feels accessible at first glance. A familiar shape, a striking composition or a beautifully crafted piece of jewellery might first draw someone in. As people spend time with the work, deeper layers begin to emerge. Ideas of whakapapa (genealogy), environmental guardianship, Indigenous experiences and the histories embedded within a place unfold gradually, creating opportunities for curiosity, conversation and connection.
This philosophy extends well beyond the jewellery bench. Across Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Keri-Mei has contributed to public artworks that encourage people to engage with the histories woven into the city’s landscape. In 2023, she collaborated with mural artist Tina Rae Carter on Kia whakatōmuri te haere whakamua, the 17-metre mural wrapping the historic St James Theatre.
Her public artworks also includes the SAVICA building commission on Customhouse Quay (2022), Te Pito (2023), a moving image work that brings together jewellery, movement and film to explore connections to whenua (land), ancestry and whakapapa (genealogy), and the public sculpture commissioned for the Porirua Writers Walk (2024). Together, these projects reflect the breadth of Keri-Mei’s practice and her ongoing exploration of creating accessible entry points into cultural narratives across different creative mediums.
For many people, Keri-Mei’s jewellery is the first encounter with her practice. The same thoughtful approach found in her public artworks can also be discovered in the pieces she creates to wear. Available in store at 3 Victoria Road, Devonport, the Aonui, Niho and Whetū collections each offer a different way of engaging with her work.
The Aonui collection draws on triangular forms associated with the pursuit of knowledge and understanding of the natural world, creating contemporary jewellery that is both refined and meaningful. The Niho collection takes inspiration from the shark tooth, expressing strength, resilience and connection through wearable forms.
The Whetū collection has become one of Keri-Mei’s most recognisable bodies of work. Each star is individually woven by hand, a meticulous process that requires patience, precision and considerable physical skill. Before the weaving even begins, Keri-Mei spends hours preparing and hand-forming the precious metal, making every piece a slow and physically demanding process. Wherever possible, she also incorporates reclaimed materials into her practice as a way of reducing waste. No two stars are exactly alike, each carrying the subtle marks of the artist’s hand. For Keri-Mei, creating these works also offers a form of rongoā (healing), creating time to slow down, reflect and reconnect with the practice of making.
Alongside her own creative practice, Keri-Mei teaches jewellery at Workspace Studios in Wellington and continues to expand her work through sculpture, moving image and curatorial projects. Later this year, she will curate an exhibition for Melbourne’s Radiant Pavilion, bringing together contemporary wāhine Māori and Aboriginal jewellers in a project that reflects her commitment to creating greater visibility for Indigenous contemporary jewellery while fostering opportunities for other artists.
Whether someone encounters Keri-Mei’s work through a pair of earrings, a handwoven pendant, a public sculpture or a mural, her hope is the same: to spark curiosity and encourage people to look a little closer. In doing so, familiar forms become gateways to whakapapa, connection and belonging, reminding us that contemporary Māori art can help us see the world, and our place within it, in new ways.
Keri-Mei is a Toi Iho recognised artist. Toi Iho is the mark of authenticity and excellence in Māori art, helping support Māori creatives while giving collectors confidence they are purchasing work from an accredited Māori artist.
Explore a selection of Keri-Mei Zagrobelna’s work below, or visit us in store at 3 Victoria Road, Devonport. Open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm.
