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Matariki Williams: Maori Arts, ATE, and protest through art.

03.25.2023 - By RNZPlay

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Matariki Williams (Ngai Tuhoe, Ngati Whakaue, Ngati Hauiti, Taranaki) is a Whakatane-based writer, curator, and historian. She is the co-founder and co-editor of ATE Journal of Maori Art alongside Bridget Reweti. The journal was set up to create a space for conversations about Maori art from a Maori perspective. [picture id="4LBNG1Q_matarikiānd_jules_jpg" crop="16x10" layout="full"] "It's just very apparent if you look through any library of New Zealand art how few Maori artists are represented, how few Maori are written about," Williams tells Mapuna. "We need space in the canon as well. We need our people to be able to learn about our artists and for us to be able to hold that space." Williams is also co-author of the book Protest: Tautohetohe: Objects of Resistance, Persistence and Defiance, published in 2019. From her Whakatane backyard, in the warming autumn sun beneath a bountiful feijoa tree, Matariki Williams talks about ATE, Maori artists, and the contemporary world of Maori art. She also speaks about Maori art as a form of protest and advocacy.

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