Does Māori art history matter?

Abstract

This essay, the edited text of a lecture presented by Deidre Brown and Ngarino Ellis and written by these two authors in collaboration with Jonathan Mane-Wheoki, outlines a methodological approach to their larger project: the writing of a Maori history of Maori art. In 2013 these three scholars began a three-year Marsden-funded project entitled 'Toi Te Mana: A History of Indigenous Art from Aotearoa New Zealand'. The present publication points towards that much larger study. Sadly, Jonathan Mane-Wheoki died as this text was being prepared; it stands as a tribute to his many years of work towards its ambitions.