Veranoa Hetet (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Maniapoto, Te Ātiawa) is a master weaver and one of our country’s most celebrated contemporary artists. Although, the humble wahine from Waiwhetū cringes when you describe her as that.
Veranoa is an uri of renowned weavers and teachers, her grandmother, the late Dame Rangimarie Hetet and her mother, the late Erenora Puketapu-Hetet. As well as her aunty, the late Diggeress Te Kanawa. She says being surrounded by art, and having parents as masters of their art, meant her journey was pretty straight forward.
Today, her work is national museum collections, it adorns the walls of galleries, she has kākahu that are awarded for excellence, like the New Zealander of the Year award, and most importantly, her work is worn and carried by her tamariki and mokopuna. Veranoa also helps whānau around the world to reclaim Māori art traditions through the Hetet School of Maori Art, an online kura where she teaches raranga, tāniko and kākahu, including korowai.
In this episode we talk about the importance of keeping our art practices alive, the beauty and vitality of the harakeke plant and we learn the correct kupu for our different woven cloaks.
I just like the idea that everything has potential and I like creating potential.
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