New York Met curator Dr Maia Nuku wins supreme award for world class Kiwis
British-born Maia Nuku watched her mother Esther Jessop (QSM) help create Ngāti Rānana (London Māori Club) - a United Kingdom village that has welcomed visiting Māori for the past six decades.
Awarded the Supreme Winner of the Kea World Class New Zealand Awards and honoured as a global leader in her field; the curator has consulted with museums around the world about indigenous art, in short creating a global village for Māori and Pasifika.
The awards celebrate Kiwis who lead and shape industries around the globe, helping build New Zealand’s reputation on the world stage.
Nuku said it was “absolutely amazing” to be given the award and to be acknowledged for her overseas mahi.
A lifetime of advocating for Māori and Pacific peoples has seen Nuku significantly increase understanding of Māori and Pacific art and build on the connections of working with leaders and iwi to ensure their art and culture are consistently represented in the right way, the awards organisers said.
