28 Aug 2026
For Professor Ngataiharuru Taepa, creativity has never been something separate from everyday life - it’s part of his whakapapa.
Born and raised in Te Upoko o te Ika, Ngatai comes from generations of artists on both sides of his whānau. His grandmother, painter Mavis Newland, taught him and his brother to paint during the school holidays, while his father, pioneering Māori clay artist and carver Wi Taepa, showed him from an early age the wider role toi can play in people's lives.
Ngatai remembers watching his father work with inmates at Wi Tako Prison, now Rimutaka Prison, using whakairo to reconnect people with their tūpuna and create pathways towards oranga.
“It’s just sort of who we are.”
Today, Ngatai is an artist and Te Amorangi Toi Māori, Director of Māori Arts at Massey University's College of Creative Arts. He now brings that lifetime immersed in creativity to his new role on the Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa.
“I think I’m a practitioner at heart.”
Encouragement from other practitioners reinforced for Ngatai the value of bringing that to the Council table.
“I’m very conscious that I carry the voices of other like-minded practitioners, and also a lineage of toi Māori practitioners that goes back a long time.”
Ngatai has already contributed to wider conversations about the future of ngā toi Māori. In 2023, he was part of Toi Ora, the national summit that brought together more than 200 Māori artists and arts leaders to discuss opportunities, challenges and priorities for ngā toi Māori. He was one of the representatives who presented recommendations from Toi Ora to Government representatives.
“We had to try and distil many voices in terms of what our practitioners were saying they need, and I carry that with me.”
Ngatai is excited by what he sees happening across toi Māori, from the resurgence of moko and taonga pūoro to new generations of storytellers and emerging technologies.
“I think it’s an exciting time for creativity and toi Māori in particular.”
He adds that growth is also about connection, ensuring toi remains connected to culture, community and the places it comes from.
“What’s important to me is that toi Māori sits with marae, sits with tikanga Māori, sits with te reo Māori me ōna tikanga.”
He sees that happening in his own rohe of Te Upoko o te Ika, where arts and culture continue to find space within communities and contribute to uplifting people.
Underpinning it all is a simple belief in the value toi brings to people’s lives. “It helps in our Māori world with health. It helps in education.”
As Ngatai takes his place on the Arts Council, he brings a lifetime immersed in creativity - as an artist, educator and leader, with a connection to whakapapa, community and the wider arts sector.