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Tangata · Researcher

Dr Ngahuia Harrison

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Lecturer

"Ahakoa e tū ana ahau ki uta, e taupungā ana ki tai." He whakatauākī tēnei nā to matou tupuna a Manaia. E ai kī te kōrero o Manaia, ahakoa ki hea i te Akau Roa o Ngātiwai e tata tonu ana koe ki te moana. Koina te hononga pumau mō matou ki te moana. 

 

I am Ngātiwai, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Pūkenga and Pākehā. I am a Lecturer at Elam in the School of Creative Arts, where I completed my Doctorate of Fine Arts. My research interrogates colonisation as an ongoing event and explores the possibilities that decolonisation holds for anyone who thinks of Aotearoa New Zeland as home. Through lens-based practice, including still photography and moving image, I examine the histories between people, place, legislation, economics and language. 

Career Highlights:
Solo Exhibitions

Te Kupenga/The Net, Whangārei Art Museum, Whangārei, July 2025

Coastal Cannibals, City Gallery, Wellington, September 2023

 

Two/Three Person Exhibitions

Native Birds: Diane Prince, Shona Rapira-Davis, Ngahuia Harrison, Bowen Gallery, Wellington, March 2025

Explicit: Emily Karaka, Ngahuia Harrison, Season Gallery, Auckland, July 2022

 

Group Exhibitions

Economies of Deferral, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth, August 2026

Whāia te Taniwha, Christchurch Art Gallery, Christchurch, September 2025

Toro Whakaara: Responses to our built environment, Objectspace, Auckland, November 2021

Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art, Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland, 2020

Distinctions and Awards
Vice-Chancellor's Best Thesis Award 2024

Rangahau · Related projects

Whakaaweawe

24WHA17Ngā Pōito i te kupenga o Toi te Huatahi The Netfloats in the Ocean of Toi te Huatahi
Kaiārahi · Project lead Dr Ngahuia Harrison
Whare wānanga · Host Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland
Matakitenga · Framework
Wā rangahau · Timeline Commenced 2024 · Completed 2025

Project SummaryThis creative-led project focuses on four sites: Poor Knights, Hen and Chicks, Little and Great Barrier Island. The islands’ isolation led to their designation as sanctuaries, a Western conservation approach that separates nature from humans. As a result the Crown took control of each site. This separation disconnected Ngātiwai from our lands…

View project

Ētahi atu · Other people

Professor Deidre Brown Professor Deidre Brown Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahu Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland I am Te Tumu (Deputy Dean) of the Faculty of Engineering and Design Te Herenga Auaha, Professor of Architecture, and…
Ella Ruth Newbold Ella Ruth Newbold Ngāti Tiipā, Ngāti Paoa, Ngāti Tamaoho, Ngāti Porou Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland Ella is a Professional Teaching Fellow and Co-Associate Head of School (Initial Teacher Education) in Te Puna Wānanga…
Associate Professor Aroha Harris Associate Professor Aroha Harris Te Rarawa, Ngāpuhi Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland Dr Aroha Harris belongs to Te Rarawa and Ngāpuhi. Her research interests span Māori and iwi histories of Māori policy…