Ngāhuia Te Awekōtuku is an art historian, curator and writer who has been a trailblazer in the public representation of culture in Aotearoa New Zealand over seven decades.
Of Te Arawa, Tūhoe, Ngāpuhi and Waikato, Te Awekōtuku's memoir Hine Toa: A Story of Bravery recently won the 2025 Ockham General Non-Fiction Award.
It follows her early years: from growing up on the pā, steeped in culture and hot water at Ōhinemutu in Rotorua, to becoming involved in women's, queer and Maori liberation movements in the late '60s and early '70s.
Ngāhiua presents the terrific TV series Waharoa: Art of the Pacific, which is streaming now on Neon, in which she took a passionate personal journey through contemporary public indigenous art. That journey grounded in histories, friendships and the charge of the art's locations.
Ngāhuia is also a panelist on RNZ arts and culture panel podcast Tukua, which we premiere a new episode of here on Culture 101 this afternoon after 3pm.
Ngāhuia is speaking at writers' events at Lit Whanganui Booklovers Festival 20 September at Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery and the Nelson Arts Festival 25th of October
