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Scoop
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scoop
Photograph Wins 2025 Kiingi Tuheitia Portraiture Award
Jazmin Tainui Mihi Paget-Knebel from Ōpōtiki has been announced the winner of the 2025 Kiingi Tuheitia Portraiture Award and a $20,000 cash prize. Jazmin's work Taniwha Chasers was chosen from an impressive 41 finalists with the Award being announced in the presence of the Māori Queen Kuini Nga wai hono i te po at Pipitea Marae in Wellington on Wednesday 21 May. Photographed in her hometown Ōpōtiki, Jazmin says Taniwha Chasers refers to the intimate connection shared between tangata, hoiho and their whenua. 'Māori have held a long and historic connection to horses as they were used as a tool to colonise Aotearoa but have since been reclaimed as part of our whakapapa. This image captures the intimate connection rangatahi Māori share with the wild horses of Ōpōtiki and how they are being used to uplift the mana of our community.' Jazmin, who affiliates with Te Whānau-ā-Apanui, Whakatōhea, Ngāpuhi, and Ngāti Hine, was born and raised in Ōmaio — a small coastal township located about 30 minutes from Ōpōtiki. Homeschooled throughout her upbringing, she began taking photographs at the age of 12. Her interest in photography deepened after attending a five-day National Geographic photo camp in Murupara, where she learned alongside world-renowned photographers. The 22-year-old moved to Wellington four years ago to study photography at Massey University and this year will complete her Honours degree in Photography. Jazmin says her work is centred around celebrating Māori/Indigenous culture through decolonising and re-indigenizing western ideologies and perspectives surrounding the lens to better her community and people. "I descend from the Paget bloodline that came from my Great-Grandmother, Tangimamao (Nee Patara) on my mother's side of my whanau. She had Whakapapa to the Iwi of Te Whānau-ā-Apanui and Whakatōhea. Her sons John Paget and Richard Paget went on to reside in Opōtiki which later become the birthplace of my mother, Heather Paget (daughter of John Paget). My whānau are the original inspiration for the creation of Taniwha Chasers as they were some of the first generations to ride horses in Ōpōtiki." In an uncanny turn of events, Jazmin served as the photographer for the 2023 Kiingi Tuheitia Portraiture Award and was later invited by the New Zealand Portrait Gallery to photograph the 2025 awards. 'I never seriously considered entering the awards myself until this year. My friends kept encouraging me after seeing the photos I'd taken back home for a university assignment. I'm beyond excited to be the recipient of such an important award. It's an incredible honour, and I'm especially excited for rangatahi to see the work and learn about the history behind it.' The biennial Award was established in 2020 as a partnership between the New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pūkenga Whakaata, and the late Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII to inspire a new generation of emerging Māori artists to create portraits of their tūpuna (ancestors). The 2025 Award is hosted and administered by the Gallery in his honour, with the blessing of Kuini Nga wai hono i te po. The award attracted portraits using a wide range of mediums including video, stop-motion puppetry, ceramics with paua inlay, oil paintings and textiles made from linen, cotton, and glass beads. The shortlisted artworks were chosen by a distinguished panel of judges, including contemporary Māori artist Dr. Areta Wilkinson (Ngāi Tahu), Head Carver for Waikato-Tainui Renta Te Wiata (Waikato-Ngāti Māhuta, Te Arawa - Ngāti Kea Ngāti Tuara), and leading painter John Walsh (Aitanga a Hauiti). Reflecting on the winning artwork the judges said: ' Taniwha Chasers is an uplifting, joyful, image that captures the heart of our time. It is full of hope and youthful energy, with a fresh perspective on connecting with our tupuna and te taiao. We are all carried along with this young rider into a future that is increasingly uncertain. The young rider, his galloping horse, the raised flag and the brooding land all merge wonderfully to convey this powerful message. The horse, once a symbol of colonization, has been reclaimed as part of our whakapapa and on-going struggle. The message is bright and clear, the composition is strong, the scale, and presentation are all striking. The work is in black and white, but you sense the richness of the scene. For us judges it was a unanimous choice, we all read the work the same way.' The runner-up and winner of the $2,500 second prize was awarded to Maata-Maria Cartisciano from Waitārere Beach for Ekore koe e ngaro i tōku Koro, an acrylic and pencil portrait of the artists koro (grandfather). The judges also gave honourable mentions to five artists - Shannon Te Rangihaeata Clamp, Divine Herekiuha, Jessica Hulme, Caitlin Jolley and Zoe Marler. The exhibition will open at the New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pūkenga Whakaata in Shed 11 on Wellington's waterfront from Thursday, 22 May to Sunday, 17 August 2025. Entry is free. The public can also vote for their choice to win the Forsyth Barr People's Choice Award – a cash prize of $2,500, announced at the close of the exhibition. The finalists' artworks will then tour Aotearoa over the next two years.
Scoop
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Scoop
Jaenine Parkinson To Depart As Director Of New Zealand Portrait Gallery
Press Release – New Zealand Portrait Gallery Jaenine has led the New Zealand Portrait Gallery for seven and a half years, overseeing a period of significant artistic and organisational growth. Her departure marks the end of a visionary chapter for the Gallery, The New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pūkenga Whakaata announces the departure of Director Jaenine Parkinson, who has been appointed as Head of Art at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Jaenine has led the New Zealand Portrait Gallery for seven and a half years, overseeing a period of significant artistic and organisational growth. Her departure marks the end of a visionary chapter for the Gallery, during which she championed diverse artists and brought deeply resonant exhibitions to life. 'One of the great privileges of this role has been celebrating the iconic impact of some of Aotearoa's most remarkable artists during their lifetimes. It has been an honour to present the works of Jacqueline Fahey, Star Gossage, Robyn Kahukiwa, Richard Lewer, Selwyn Muru, and John Walsh — alongside powerful exhibitions featuring artists mid-flight such as Edith Amituanai, Hiria Anderson-Mita, Julia Holden, Sara McIntyre, Euan Macleod, and Telly Tuita. I've especially loved working closely with communities on exhibitions exploring rich, layered themes — from filmmaking about the New Zealand Wars, to being Chinese in Aotearoa, to the lives of transgender women from Carmen Rupe's generation and women sculptors,' says Jaenine. Chair of the New Zealand Portrait Gallery Board, Dr. Alan Bollard CNZM, says, 'Jaenine's impact on the Gallery and the wider art community has been transformational. She has consistently brought bold, thoughtful, and inclusive leadership to her work, ensuring the Gallery remains a place where identity, community, and creativity intersect. We are thrilled for her new opportunity and deeply grateful for all she has contributed.' As she prepares for her next chapter, Jaenine remains an ardent supporter of the capital's arts scene. 'The gallery ecosystem in Pōneke is doing it tough right now but I believe in its strength and resilience. By keeping the value of our arts and artists in focus, and continuing to show up in support, we can and will endure. It has been an incredible opportunity and immense honour to lead the New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pūkenga Whakaata. I am proud of all we have achieved together and confident that the Gallery will continue to thrive and inspire under new leadership. I will continue to remind people, to their astonishment, that the Portrait Gallery is a charity that must start fundraising from scratch every year. I remain amazed that the Portrait Gallery not only exists but thrives, thanks to the incredible generosity of its supporters. I am profoundly grateful for the backing of artists, the board, staff, and our community of supporters during my time here.' The New Zealand Portrait Gallery will begin recruitment for a new Director shortly.
Scoop
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Scoop
Jaenine Parkinson To Depart As Director Of New Zealand Portrait Gallery
The New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pūkenga Whakaata announces the departure of Director Jaenine Parkinson, who has been appointed as Head of Art at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Jaenine has led the New Zealand Portrait Gallery for seven and a half years, overseeing a period of significant artistic and organisational growth. Her departure marks the end of a visionary chapter for the Gallery, during which she championed diverse artists and brought deeply resonant exhibitions to life. "One of the great privileges of this role has been celebrating the iconic impact of some of Aotearoa's most remarkable artists during their lifetimes. It has been an honour to present the works of Jacqueline Fahey, Star Gossage, Robyn Kahukiwa, Richard Lewer, Selwyn Muru, and John Walsh — alongside powerful exhibitions featuring artists mid-flight such as Edith Amituanai, Hiria Anderson-Mita, Julia Holden, Sara McIntyre, Euan Macleod, and Telly Tuita. I've especially loved working closely with communities on exhibitions exploring rich, layered themes — from filmmaking about the New Zealand Wars, to being Chinese in Aotearoa, to the lives of transgender women from Carmen Rupe's generation and women sculptors,' says Jaenine. Chair of the New Zealand Portrait Gallery Board, Dr. Alan Bollard CNZM, says, 'Jaenine's impact on the Gallery and the wider art community has been transformational. She has consistently brought bold, thoughtful, and inclusive leadership to her work, ensuring the Gallery remains a place where identity, community, and creativity intersect. We are thrilled for her new opportunity and deeply grateful for all she has contributed.' As she prepares for her next chapter, Jaenine remains an ardent supporter of the capital's arts scene. 'The gallery ecosystem in Pōneke is doing it tough right now but I believe in its strength and resilience. By keeping the value of our arts and artists in focus, and continuing to show up in support, we can and will endure. It has been an incredible opportunity and immense honour to lead the New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pūkenga Whakaata. I am proud of all we have achieved together and confident that the Gallery will continue to thrive and inspire under new leadership. I will continue to remind people, to their astonishment, that the Portrait Gallery is a charity that must start fundraising from scratch every year. I remain amazed that the Portrait Gallery not only exists but thrives, thanks to the incredible generosity of its supporters. I am profoundly grateful for the backing of artists, the board, staff, and our community of supporters during my time here." The New Zealand Portrait Gallery will begin recruitment for a new Director shortly.
