Selwyn Muru

Name
Selwyn Muru
Iwi/Ethnicity
Te Aupōuri/Māori
Ngāti Kurī/Māori
Date of birth
06 Sep 1937
Place of birth
Te Hapua/Northland (region)/New Zealand
Gender
Male
Biography
Selwyn Muru was born in Te Hāpua in the Far North. His life’s work spans radio broadcast, drama, acting, set design, sculpture, painting, poetry and whaikōrero (formal oratory).

As both a journalist and artist, Selwyn has focused on communicating Māori stories and mythologies, history, contemporary life and ongoing injustices. The paintings in his *Parihaka* series (1975–79) tell the story of passive resistance from a Māori perspective. His work has been similiarly outspoken on the issues of nuclear testing in the Pacific and the apartheid regime in South Africa.

In 1990, Muru received Te Waka Toi’s Te Tohu mō Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu Award for his contributions to Māori visual art, broadcasting, journalism and whaikōrero.