Te Ara i Whiti Artist Feature – Johnny

Johnny Moetara

Rongowhakaata, Ngā Puhi

Johnny Moetara is a practicing visual artist specialising in painting. He is also active in both Whakairo and Kapa Haka, allowing him to maintain a strong connection with Te Ao Māori through ancestral lands and the ocean. Johnny is also a Kaiako at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, at the Whirikoka campus, teaching in the Māori and Indigenous Arts. Storytelling is a passion of Johnny’s and is carried across into his work.

Johnny’s recent exhibitions include the group show Mairanga: hiki matika, hiki matata, hiki amoamo i te papa at Toi Ake, Gisborne (2021), and Evechinus Chloroticus, Kina Help You? for Te Ara i Whiti, part of Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival (2020).

Te Ara i Whiti

Johnny is one of our twelve exhibiting artists for Te Ara i Whiti 2021.

Johnny brings his love for Waka Ama and an inherent connection to the awa, with an intricate birds-eye view of waka and whai.