Ngaroma Riley: Carving out a place for wāhine

Whakairo, or traditional Māori carving, isn’t an area that’s been especially welcoming of women, so it wasn’t until Ngaroma Riley spent time in Japan that she finally got the chance to learn carving. Now she’s one of a small but growing number of wāhine carvers in Aotearoa.

Her work, especially with karetao, or Māori puppetry, was recognised recently when she was awarded the $40,000 Fair Trust Art Prize. Here she is talking to Dale Husband about overcoming the resistance to wāhine in whakairo.

Imagery and text taken from link above