Ngaahina Hohaia

Place: Parihaka

Born: 1975

Biography:

Ngaahina Hohaia is a visual artist and weaver of Te Āti Awa, Ngāti Ruanui, Ngāti Moeahu, Ngāti Haupoto and Greek descent from Parihaka, New Zealand. She has artistic influences from her grandmothers, her Māori grandmother was a weaver and Greek grandmother was a painter. Ngaahina gained a Masters in Māori Visual Arts from Toioho ki Āpiti in 2009 and in 2010 received the Arts Foundation of New Zealand New Generation Award. In 2007 Hohaia received the Te Waka Toi Ngā Karapihi award. Her work often draws from Parihaka history and has been exhibited nationally and internationally. Her contemporary art work uses traditional fibres combined with metals and silks. Items she has created include jewellery and adornment pieces, sculpture and large-scale multimedia installations. Hohaia made a complaint with the New Zealand police about a racial attack on her in 2020 and hundreds of people gathered at Ōwairaka mountain in Auckland in solidarity for her. Māori leaders spoke out against the decision made by the police not to prosecute.