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LYONEL RECIPIENT OF HAWAIIAN CARVING RESIDENCY |
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Courtesy Creative New Zealand |
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Sculptor /
carver / designer Lyonel Grant (Ngāti Pikiao, Te Arawa) has been
awarded the first Te Waka Toi Oahu Residency.
Te Waka Toi, the Mäori arts board of Creative New Zealand, is
developing the residency with the Kamakakūokalani Centre for Hawaiian
Studies at the University of Hawaii, Manoa, Hawaii.
Te Waka Toi Chair Elizabeth Ellis said that Lyonel Grant has more than
30 years experience in his artform and has worked on several major
projects in New Zealand and internationally. He is a licensed user of
toi iho™, the trademark of authenticity and quality in Māori arts.
“The innovation and diversity he displays in his work is outstanding,”
Ms Ellis said.
“His traditional work on waka and meeting houses is of an exceptional
standard. He has also used his traditional knowledge to great success
on more contemporary projects such as the award-winning garden at last
year’s Chelsea Garden Show in London.
“Lyonel will be a great ambassador for New Zealand and Māori art during
the time of his residency in Hawaii.
“The Oahu Residency aims to strengthen the cultural links between
indigenous Hawaiian and Māori as well as providing a professional
development opportunity for Māori carvers.
“When we meet indigenous Hawaiian, we find there are many things we
have in common. It is particularly noticeable in our arts and culture.
Initiatives like this residency will help strengthen those links to the
benefit of arts development in both countries,” Ms Ellis said.
Mr Grant said previous overseas travels had helped him better
understand the place of Māori in a world context. “We are unique but we
are also part of a common energy. In this light, I am proud of my
culture.
“I believe Māori have a lot in common with the tāngata whenua of Hawaii
and there is much we can learn from each other. That is my key interest
in this residency.”
Mr Grant’s current major project in New Zealand is leading the building
of the marae at Auckland’s Unitec. While in Hawaii, he plans to use
that as a focus for lectures he will give on Māori carving and will
also work on a pou for the whare while he is there. |
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Major commissions include the Wai Tu Kei at Government Gardens,
Rotorua; Te Ahurei o Waikato in Huntly; Pou Wairua in the
Auckland Sky City Casino.
(Photo: courtesy Creative New Zealand)
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Sculptor / carver / designer Lyonel Grant (Ngāti Pikiao, Te
Arawa) has been awarded the first Te Waka Toi Oahu Residency
with the Kamakakūokalani Centre, Hawaii
(Photo: Norm Heke)
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Lyonel Grant is a licensed user of toi iho™, the trademark of
authenticity and quality in Māori arts; with exceptional
traditional work on waka and meeting houses.
(Photo: Robert Curd) |
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The residency will last for two months from September.
Lyonel Grant began his training as a carver in 1974 at the Māori
Arts and Crafts Institute in Rotorua, a school set up in 1966 to
promote the arts of the marae and wharenui.
He is a carver with a number of high-profile works to his credit but
is also recognised as a sculptor who has made the transition between
classical and contemporary modes of art expression.
He is currently working on his third meeting house at Auckland’s
Unitec. His other two meeting houses are Ihenga/Tangatarua at
Waiariki Institute of Technology in Rotorua and Te Papa o te Aroha
in Tokoroa.
His waka include Te Arawa, which was carved for the people of Te
Arawa and resides on the shores of Rotorua. The waka was used in the
commemoration of the 1990 Commonwealth Games in San Diego and Hono
ki Aotearoa was carved in a short period of time when Grant was
invited to visit the annual Hawaiian Canoe Festival.
Major commissions include:
• The bronze sculpture Wai Tu Kei located in the Government Gardens,
Rotorua, presented to the people of Rotorua in conjunction with
Millennium celebrations
• Te Ahurei o Waikato in Huntly - a celebration of one thousand
years of occupation of the Tainui people on their land
• Pou Wairua in the Sky City Casino, Auckland.
He regularly exhibits in solo and group exhibitions. His work will
be on display this week in San Francisco at the Māori Art Meets
America promotion.
He is a licensed user of toi ihoTM, the registered trademark for
authenticity and quality in Māori arts.
More information about Lyonel Grant is available at
www.lyonelgrant.com or contact: Undine Marshfield, Senior Media and
Communications Advisor, Creative New Zealand; Tel: (04) 498-0725 or
Mobile (0274) 965-925; Email:
undinem@creativenz.govt.nz
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Copyright Event Polynesia Ltd.
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