Marilynn Webb

Name
Marilynn Webb
Iwi/Ethnicity
Ngāpuhi/Māori
Te Roroa/Māori
Date of birth
1937
Date of death
16 Aug 2021
Gender
Female
Biography
Dr Marilyn Webb was born in Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland and is a descendent of Moe Ngaherehere, the 47th signatory of Te Tiriti o Waitangi (The Treaty of Waitangi). Educated in Ōpōtiki, Bay of Plenty, she went on to study at Ardmore Teachers’ College (1955–56) and Dunedin Teachers’ College (1957).

Webb committed to printmaking as her main artistic mode in the 1960s and has established herself as a leader in the medium. Across her long career, she has engaged in a social commentary about environmental concerns, feminist issues, and Māori and postcolonial history.

Webb has also had a long career in arts education. As an arts advisor for the Department of Education in Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland and Te Tai Tokerau/Northland, she was part of the generation of artists who worked under Gordon Tovey to reintroduce Māori art into New Zealand schools.

In 2010, Webb received a Doctor of Laws *honoris causa* from the University of Otago for her contribution to art and arts education. In 2011, she was given a Ngā Tohu a Tā Kīngi Ihaka award from Te Waka Toi in recognition of her support of ngā toi Māori (Māori arts).