Pūanga – Matariki 2026: Te Waka o Rangi

Artists involved in Pūanga – Matariki 2026: Te Waka o Rangi include:

Natanahira Te Pona
Nga Puhi and Tūwharetoa

Wiremu Taniwha Kingi rauauko Ngahuia Retimana oku tipuna ki te taha ko taku Matua. Rangi Herewaka Rata rauako Paiahua Karena oku tipuna ki te taha ko taku whaea. Ko Tutete Taniwha Kingi rauauko Mailie Rata oku maatua. Nga Puhi, Tu Wharetoa, Ngati Awa, Te Aopouri, Ngati Raukawa, Ngati Porou, Te Arawa oku Iwi. Ko Matangirau, Mangamuka, Hirangi, Tunohopu oku marae.

Natanahira Te Pona graduated from the Māori Arts and Crafts Institute as a wood sculptor. He has extensive experience managing sculpture symposiums and creating public sculptures around New Zealand. His passion for wood carving has spanned commissions, teaching adults and children and he is currently Lake House Art Centre’s Resident Carver.
rayventoi.com

Ngahiwi Walker
Ngāti Porou

Ngahiwi is a Māori wood carver known for his beautifully crafted Māori sculptures or pou (pillars).
His iwi (tribe) is Ngāti Porou and he is originally from Te Araroa in Te Tai Rāwhiti (the East Coast).
Ngahiwi lives locally with his whanau in Te Hau Kapua (Devonport) and has served in Te Taua Moana o Aotearoa (The Royal New Zealand Navy) for over 40 years.

The purakau (stories) of these carved works represent his knowledge of some of the many celestial stories associated with ‘Te Waka o Rangi’ and this important time of ‘Te Putanga mai o Matariki’ (the appearance of Matariki).
Ngahiwi works mostly with macrocarpa and occasionally NZ tōtara and he hand-carves each piece.
@poutehau_designs

Anthony Ante Pecotic Vidilo
Tainui Ngati Paoa, Ngati Raukawa / Te Arawa Ngati Whakaue, Ngati Pikiao, Croatian, English & Dain heritage

Tony is a multidisciplinary artist based in Tāmaki Makaurau. His work draws deeply on his  Māori heritage while weaving in perspectives from his wider cultural background. Anthony has exhibited in Aotearoa including the Aotea Centre (Auckland), and internationally, New Zealand House (London), and Brixton Art Gallery (South London). He has also undertaken residencies abroad — in Chiba, Japan, where he painted large-scale murals sharing Māori values and culture, and in Basauri, Spain, where he created a whare nui to connect audiences with Māori history and culture.

Over the past six years, Anthony has expanded his practice beyond painting to experiment with harakeke, tī kōuka leaves and carving in wood and bone. His art reflects a balance between tradition and innovation, storytelling and material exploration. Being involved with The Lake House Art Collective Takapuna Anthony has been learning from the vast knowledge and experience that Natanahira brings as a traditional Māori carver/ artist and mentor. Through his work, Anthony seeks to create with sensitivity and purpose, expressing identity, resilience, and connection across cultures for those who have gone before and those yet to come.
@Anthonypecotic

Kāwika Aspili
Hawaiian

Kāwika is a Hawaiian multi-media artist whose work bridges the cultures of Hawaiʻi and Aotearoa. With a foundation of kiʻi carving under renowned Māori carver Lyonel Grant, and ongoing study under master pounamu carver Al Brown, his practice is grounded in deep cultural knowledge and skilled craftsmanship. He is an accomplished singer/songwriter, best known for powerful original works like “E Piʻi Mai” and “I Am Not American.” Holding a master’s degree in Hawaiian studies from UH Mānoa, his research focused on Mele Lāhui, songs that express Hawaiian identity, resistance, and sovereignty. His academic work, grounded in Indigenous research methods and cultural frameworks, deeply informs his carving practice. Kaleikiʻi blends Hawaiian and Māori design elements, honouring Kāwika’s Hawaiian moʻokūʻauhau and the Māori whakapapa of his partner, Rereahu. With the recent birth of their daughter, Hinetohiata, this cultural fusion has taken on even deeper significance, serving as a way to imprint a strong sense of identity, belonging, and ancestral pride in the next generation.
@kawikaaspili

Mike Raven
Ngāpuhi, English, Scottish

Mike is a kaiwhakairo based in Whangaparāoa, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. With a background spanning music, arboriculture, and landscaping, his creative practice is grounded in a deep reconnection with his identity and a desire to support others on similar journeys of cultural reclamation and healing. Raven is currently working under renowned master carver Natanahira Pona, further developing his craft through both traditional and contemporary approaches to whakairo. His recent exhibitions include E tipu e rea by Natanahira Pona at the Lake House Arts Centre, along with multiple Matariki and Pūanga exhibitions across Tāmaki Makaurau. His work ranges from traditional whakairo for wharenui to contemporary standalone pieces and tāonga, reflecting a belief that nothing is off limits when guided by kaupapa and connection. Raven currently works from Te Whare Roto o Toi at the Lake House Arts Centre as well as his private studio. He welcomes commissions from both public and private sectors, creating works that honour whakapapa, place, and the evolving expression of Māori art today. 
@mikeravenwhakairo


Terence Hibbert
Māori, English, Greek
 “Tēnā koutou e hoa ma… Ko Terence ahau – everyone calls me Ti, even my mum. My whakapapa is Māori, English and Greek (before any tests are taken lol). I’m a passionate artist, musician, dad, koro, public speaker and facilitator, business consultant, Rongoa Māori practitioner, softball player, mean as cook, fisherman, diver and Hangi master – greedy aye lol. Always learning and growing, living in Torbay Tamaki Makaurau. I’ve had an affinity with wood, stone and bone making taonga since childhood. My connection with nature is a taonga, in itself nurtured and expressed in the love of mahi toi. I stepped out of the rat race when making shareholders rich no longer did it for me. Sure, the money was great, but the energy used to be successful had too many negative effects on other aspects of my life. I’ve never been happier or had a richer existence. Like my cooking (my waistline tells the story here lol) I do what I do with love whether it be singing, creating or just being present.

Timata Mata’u
Samoan, Māori

Timata is a Polynesian mahi toi artist based in Te Atatū North, with whakapapa to Samoa – Gautavai, Savai‘i, Taranaki / Ngāti Toa, and Ngāti Kahungunu through his early life in Hawke’s Bay. His practice is grounded in cultural reconnection, identity, and the revitalisation of traditional knowledge across the wider Polynesian world.

Working with wood, bone, stone, and harakeke, Mata’u brings together traditional mediums and contemporary expression. His work is primarily mahi toi, whakairo, and Polynesian‐inspired carving, drawing from ancestral forms, personal history, and the desire to honour the stories carried through material and method. In 2025, he received a Highly Commended Award at Lake House Arts, recognising his emerging voice and dedication to craft.

Mata’u’s creative journey began later in life. It was sparked by his daughter, who asked him to make a heru for her Kapa Haka group. A toki for his mother followed, and with encouragement from his fiancé, he committed to learning formal technique and methodology. Although he has been studying whakairo for less than a year, the practice has become a powerful pathway for him — a way to learn te reo Māori, understand tikanga, and reconnect with the cultural foundations he was separated from after moving overseas at a young age. Based out West Auckland, Mata’u continues to develop his craft with humility, curiosity, and deep cultural intention, creating works that honour his whakapapa and the interconnectedness of Polynesian identity.
@phat.taonga

Shaun Tiria
Cook Island Māori / NZ Māori / NZ European

Shaun was born with an appreciation for art and pursuing art at secondary school, ventured into architecture and after becoming qualified as an Architectural Draftsperson, spent 30 years working in the building industry. Now with a renewed vigour to express creativity along with a lifetime of acquired practical skills is mixing carving, sculpture, fabrication and design into beauty, Art and taonga that will serve as a legacy. Heavily inspired by Nature and influenced by the water element, we see the love for Pacific Arts and the passion and responsibility to recycle, believing that everything has a history that needs to be preserved.

Having strong practical and fabrication skills, we find recycling mixed medias such as native Rakau, Metals and any natural materials considered Taonga as the theme for many inspired work pieces. The places of origin, the historic use or a means of gathering all create a story which can inspire conversation that contribute towards educating and reviving culture.

Covid provided the catalyst that led to creating commissioned unique bespoke Taonga from home and opened up a wave of creativity and the venture into Whakairo Rakau. This in turn has provided the motivation to appreciate all art forms and the desire to be study and be among mentors and peers.
@pacificinfluence_
 
Garth Ward
Ngati Pakeha (England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland)

Garth has been learning Maori carving, tutored by Natanahira Te Pona at Lakehouse Arts Centre in Takapuna. He started with the panel carving course and has continued to carve Māori masks, pou, patu, wahaika and now is working on a taiaha. His interest in woodwork was sparked by manual training at intermediate school. Following a professional life as an accountant, spent working in financial roles for a number of companies, Garth now has time to pursue his passion for wood.

After making a number of furniture pieces for his home, mainly using recycled NZ native timbers, he discovered the Centre for Fine Woodworking near Nelson at which he has taken several short courses. A prized chip-carved coffee table made by his grandfather inspired him to take a course in chip carving with Geof Korver, a tutor with the Centre for Fine Woodworking. Māori carving has been next step in his journey.
@wardgarth

Steven Bourke
English / Irish / Chinese / Te Āti Awa

Steven is based in Tamaki Makaurau Auckland residing in Te Hau Kapua/Belmont.

Steven is new to the creation and design of these art works exploring the different forms and textures created from the use of Queen Palm seed husks that are wire brushed, sanded and finished with beeswax to retain the materials natural colours. Feathers used are locally sourced or gifted and from native and domestic birds and these are integrated into each individual piece. The final lashing brings the elements together, completing the work for others to enjoy.  Apart from the current lashing used all materials are naturally sourced.

Steven has been doing this for about 12 months and as time permits. The pieces that have been created have been given away for others to enjoy.
Steven is serving member of the Royal New Zealand Navy.

The catalogue for Pūanga – Matariki 2026: Te Waka o Rangi will be added to this event soon.