New Zealand Māori Arts & Crafts Institute

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New Zealand Māori Arts & Crafts Institute National schools of Stone & Bone Carving, Wood Carving and Weaving 📍 Te Puia, Rotorua l New Zealand

Young Māori from across Aotearoa New Zealand apply for scholarships to attend NZMACI, and study traditional material culture in the forms of whakairo and raranga. Since 1967, we have taught these traditional styles and methods, with graduates of the 3-year tertiary course returning home with the skills and knowledge required to support the aspirations of their whānau, hapu and Iwi.

Today, we commemorate 100 years since the Māori Arts and Crafts Act 1926 received Royal Assent with the unveiling of a n...
21/10/2026

Today, we commemorate 100 years since the Māori Arts and Crafts Act 1926 received Royal Assent with the unveiling of a new waharoa at Te Puia | New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute (NZMACI).

Established on the vision that Māori arts must be taught, practised and passed on, NZMACI continues to carry that purpose forward through its three wānanga and the generations of tohunga, pouako and tauira who keep mātauranga Māori alive.

The new waharoa honours the people, knowledge and relationships that have shaped our journey. Representing our three wānanga, Pōhutu geyser, the guiding legacy, our people, and the enduring legacy of Te Puia | NZMACI. It is a powerful expression of Māori arts and a reminder that our strength comes from every generation contributing to the next.

He rau ringa, e oti ai.
The many hands that have contributed.

Today, we honour those who came before us, celebrate those carrying the legacy forward, and look towards the next 100 years together.

Te whare i whakaarahia i roto i te pā tūwatawata o ngā tūmanako.
The house that was fortified in the aspirations of our ancestors.

Tūrei | Te Reo i te KāingaToday, for Te Reo i te Kāinga, we’re sharing some of the kupu (words) you’ll hear around NZMAC...
14/09/2026

Tūrei | Te Reo i te Kāinga

Today, for Te Reo i te Kāinga, we’re sharing some of the kupu (words) you’ll hear around NZMACI.

Te reo grows through everyday use. At home, with whānau, and in the small moments where we use our language. Which of these kupu will you be using at home?

09/09/2026

Today we reflect on the past century as we remember the Māori Arts and Crafts Act 1926, which received Royal Assent and became law on this day 100 years ago. The legislation established a Board of Māori Arts and enabled the establishment of schools of Māori art. Its stated purpose was to “encourage the Dissemination of Knowledge of Maori Arts and Crafts.”

Following the Tohunga Suppression Act 1907, it became an offence to practise as a tohunga and the impact on traditional Māori knowledge holders was widely felt. By the 1920s, traditional arts associated with building whare whakairo were in serious decline.

A generation of Māori leaders recognised the need not simply to preserve Māori arts, but to rebuild the chain of knowledge. Among those leaders were Tā Apirana Ngata, Sir Peter Buck (Te Rangi Hīroa), Tai Mitchell and Dr Tūtere Wī Repa, who were influential in the wider movement to strengthen Māori wellbeing and revitalise Māori culture and arts.

Te Puea Hērangi helped establish Tūrangawaewae as a centre for Tainui renewal, fostering a revival of Māori arts and crafts. Her head carver, Wiremu Te Ranga (Piri) Poutapu, studied at the then Rotorua School of Māori Arts and Crafts at Ōhinemutu as part of its first intake, before carrying that knowledge home to establish a carving school of his own in Tainui.

100 years later, we are privileged to carry the memory of those who came before, honour the knowledge they passed down, and continue to shape the future together. We asked tauira, past and present, to share what NZMACI means to them.

NZMACI is heading to This week, ancestral knowledge, contemporary design and Māori creative practice come together as t...
17/08/2026

NZMACI is heading to

This week, ancestral knowledge, contemporary design and Māori creative practice come together as the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute joins Kāhui Collective's 2026 programme.

From Rotorua to the runway, symposium and retail floor, NZMACI will be sharing the knowledge and practices that continue to shape Māori creativity today.

The House of Harakeke
Six woven pieces created through a collaboration between designer Shona Tāwhiao and NZMACI's Te Rito o Rotowhio, National Weaving School, will feature in The House of Harakeke at the Kāhui Collective runway.

Wānanga Whiri: Threads of Connection
Tumu of Te Takapū o Rotowhio, Stacy Gordine, will lead a hands-on exploration of whiri, sharing traditional techniques alongside the cultural significance, whakapapa and mātauranga held within the practice.

Hae Whakarewa
Stacy Gordine will also share the story behind Hae Whakarewa, the distinctive typeface developed for NZMACI and inspired by Māori design principles and our three wānanga.

Āhua Gallery
Contemporary taonga created by NZMACI tauira across weaving, wood carving, and stone & bone carving will be available at the Kāhui Collective retail activation.

FIND US AT KĀHUI COLLECTIVE

Tuesday 18 August | 10am–4.30pm
📍 The Cloud, Queen's Wharf
Indigenous Fashion Symposium
11am — Hae Whakarewa: Typeface and Brand
2–3pm — Wānanga Whiri: Threads of Connection

Tuesday 18 – Thursday 20 August | 12–6pm
📍 The Cloud, Queen's Wharf
Āhua Gallery retail activation

Thursday 20 August | 6pm
📍 Shed 10, Auckland
Kāhui Collective Runway
Featuring The House of Harakeke by Shona Tāwhiao, including six woven pieces created in collaboration with NZMACI's Te Rito o Rotowhio.

Can't make it to Fashion Week?
You can still experience contemporary Māori design right here in Rotorua.

Visit Āhua Gallery and NZMACI at Te Puia, open 7 days a week, and discover contemporary taonga created by our tauira.

Ancestral knowledge, remembered through time and hands.

From Te Rito o Rotowhio to the runway.Over the past few months, Te Rito o Rotowhio has been working with Shona Tawhiao, ...
30/07/2026

From Te Rito o Rotowhio to the runway.

Over the past few months, Te Rito o Rotowhio has been working with Shona Tawhiao, whose designs sit at the intersection of traditional Māori weaving and contemporary fashion. Together, they have created five garments that will feature in her six-piece collection at New Zealand Fashion Week on 20 August.

As Tumu Cori Masters says: "If the opportunity is there, it would be irresponsible for us not to provide a place for Te Rito to explore."

For Shona, the partnership has been unlike anything she has experienced before.
The experience of meeting Cori and being welcomed into Te Rito has been transformative. She describes the opportunity to work alongside an entire weaving collective as something incredibly rare, particularly for a weaver working within contemporary fashion.

The collaboration has allowed her to bring together her two passions of weaving and fashion, in a way that is deeply supported by the knowledge, strength and collective expertise of Te Rito.

We can't wait to see these pieces take to the runway next month.

24/07/2026

This week marked the beginning of a journey for 12 tauira who have been welcomed into the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute.

Selected to join Te Wānanga Whakairo Rākau o Aotearoa (National Wood Carving School), Te Takapū o Rotowhio(National Stone and Bone Carving School), and Te Rito o Rotowhio (National Weaving School), these tauira are continuing a legacy first envisioned by Tā Apirana Ngata almost 99 years ago.

With just four tauira accepted into each wānanga, they’ll learn directly from NZMACI tohunga, gaining the skills to one day return home and strengthen their own whānau, hapū and iwi.

From carrying on whānau legacies to creating new ones, this is more than the first day, it’s the next chapter in protecting and advancing toi Māori for generations to come.

Nau mai, haere mai to our 2026 intake. We can’t wait to see where this journey takes you.

26/06/2026

Whakanuia!

Today we celebrated the graduation of nine tauira from the New Zealand Māori Arts & Crafts Institute.
A beautiful pōhiri welcomed their whānau to Rotowhio Marae.

The graduates from Te Wānanga Whakairo Rākau, Te Takapū o Rotowhio, and Te Rito o Rotowhio now step forward as the next generation of kaitiaki.
To our graduates, tēnā koutou. We are immensely proud of all you have achieved.

The graduating class of 2026:

Te Wānanga Whakairo Rākau
Akiira Huata
Hamiora Ngaheu
Manawaru Rangihau

Te Takapū o Rotowhio
Katete Cassidy
Heretini Fidow

Te Rito o Rotowhio
Lea Wirihana
Stevie Katipa-Nepia
Kimberley Todd
Angela Farrar

📸 More photos from today's celebration coming next week.

Our second-year tauira, Katete Cassidy and Heretini Fidow, are nearing the completion of their studies at the New Zealan...
17/06/2026

Our second-year tauira, Katete Cassidy and Heretini Fidow, are nearing the completion of their studies at the New Zealand Māori Arts & Crafts Institute and are now carving their graduation exhibition pieces, Hei Poupou.

Hei Poupou represents the culmination of their learning journey so far. In the first year, tauira focus on understanding form and structure. In the second year, they begin developing tribal styles and exploring the characteristics that define different regional approaches carving. These foundations are then carried into Hei Poupou, where all past modules, experiences, and carving techniques come together in a single body of mahi.

Each piece becomes a reflection of the tauira themselves, showcasing not only technical ability, but also the growth, discipline, and individuality shaped throughout their training.

Congratulations to former tauira Riki Manuel, appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2026 King's...
03/06/2026

Congratulations to former tauira Riki Manuel, appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2026 King's Birthday Honours.

A member of our 8th intake, Riki graduated in 1977 under master carver Hone Te Kauru Taiapa. Over five decades, he has dedicated his life to whakairo and tā moko, shaping the development and visibility of Toi Māori both in Aotearoa and internationally.

As Riki shared: "I graduated from the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute and have been making a living through my art ever since. I'm grateful for the teachings I received and the foundation they gave me."

A proud moment for us as we get to celebrate one of our own.

Address

20 Hemo Road
Rotorua
3040

Opening Hours

Monday 8:45am - 4pm
Tuesday 8:45am - 4pm
Wednesday 8:45am - 4pm
Thursday 8:45am - 4pm
Friday 8:45am - 4pm
Saturday 8:45am - 3:45pm
Sunday 10am - 4pm

Telephone

+6473489047

Website

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