Emily Karaka: Kanohi ki te kanohi, face to face

Join us on Waitangi Day for a conversation with acclaimed artist, Emily Karaka, in the presence of her powerful, exuberantly-coloured paintings currently on display as part of Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art.

Throughout her career, Emily Karaka has addressed issues surrounding Te Tiriti o Waitangi, mana whenua (land and cultural claims) and kaitiakitanga (environment and guardianship).

At this event, Emily Karaka will give insights to how these issues are addressed in her works in the Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art exhibition.  

E ai ki ētahi, he ringa peita kaupapa tōrangapū ahau. Tēnā, ko ngā tōrangapū he momo tauoranga, he kaupapa mō te tangata: mō te wheako o te tangata.

People see me as a political painter. Well politics is life, it is a comment on people: the experience of people.

– Emily Karaka

Artwork credit: 

Emily Karaka, Te Uri O Te Ao (detail), 1995, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, purchased with the assistance of Reader's Digest New Zealand Limited, 1997.
Emily Karaka, CULTURAL ID; Marae, Maunga, Motu, 2020, commissioned by Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, 2020, supported by the Auckland Contemporary Art Trust.
Emily Karaka, Coming through, 1983, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, purchased 1983.