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

Matariki Williams (Ngai Tuhoe, Ngati Whakaue, Ngati Hauiti, Taranaki) is a Whakatane-based writer, curator, and historian. She is the co-founder of and co-editor of ATE Journal of Maori Arts, alongside Bridget Reweti, which was set up to create a space to talk about Maori art, from a Maori perspective. "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 told 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.