Te Whanganui-a-tara | Wellington-Western region update: July-August ’26.
Kia ora members and friends of Ceramics New Zealand
First, I want to celebrate and acknowledge the work and contribution of uku artist, Baye Riddell, recently recognised in the 2026 King’s Birthday Honours – Baye Riddell, ONZM, for services to Māori clay art.
Baye Riddell (Ngāti Porou and Te Whānau-a-Ruataupare) became a full-time potter in 1974, the first Māori artist to commit to this profession. In 1986, with Manos Nathan, he was a co-founder of Ngā Kaihanga Uku, the national Māori clayworkers’ collective. In 1989 he and Nathan were awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to establish an exchange with Native American artists. He was awarded the Creative New Zealand Craft/Object Fellowship in 2011 (Te Papa, 2026).
“The use of traditional designs and forms wrapped around our stories and worldview make our work identifiably from this land when seen on a world stage” Baye Riddell (Te Papa, 2026).
It’s not just about pottery, is it? Something profound happens here each time a work emerges from the raw clay. What is that thing?
“To Māori the act of creating something is tapu or sacred. The extent to which we elevate the sacredness of that act (for example by karakia, ritual) or reduce it to the mundane (that is, by mass production) determines how ‘profound’ that process and experience is for the maker” (Baye Riddell in conversation with Te Papa).
https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/about/te-papa-press/baye-riddell-biography-and-10
Baye Riddell, author of Ngā Kaihanga Uku Māori Clay Artists.
Māori clay stories are intertwined with our creation narratives. We also have stories about the other elements that are central to the ceramic process, but despite this, there is little evidence of ceramic production by Māori in Aotearoa. In our development as Māori clay artists, we researched and pondered the stories of our ancestors and their uses of clay. This knowledge proved crucial in the formation of our Ngā Kaihanga Uku identity as a new movement within Māori art (The Post, 2023): https://www.thepost.co.nz/culture/350094882/book-extract-nga-kaihanga-uku-maori-clay-artists-part-one
Regional news
Te Whanganui-a-tara
PĀTAKA Porirua, Wellington.
From the archives: Wellington potter, Jenny Shearer veteran potter shares her love of pottery, friendship, and a love of clay (14 Jul 2025, Rachel Healy.https://www.thepost.co.nz/culture/360756974/potter y-friendship-and-shared-love-clay)
The Dowse Art Museum The Parlour
Image: Dowse Art Museum (2026).
The Parlour riffs on the ‘period room’ — a common museum display device that reconstructs room interiors, frozen in time, from a specific historical era. Rather than simply recreating the past, such as a Victorian parlour or an Italian Baroque sitting room — this exhibition imagines what a Dowse period room might look and feel like.
Drawing on The Dowse’s extensive permanent collection, this exhibition draws on different eras and styles, reflecting how collections — like our own homes — evolve over time. From wallpaper samples, handblown perfume bottles, jerseys, paintings, rugs, to an abundance of brown ceramics, the display showcases the collection as if it was in a home. The Parlour is not a room frozen in time, but a place that offers a glimpse into the character of the collection. Consider this your invitation to come inside and look around.
Wellington Potters Association
Members workshops: Tagine workshop with Vivian Rodriques – 3 part workshop – members only. See WPA members portal for details https://www.wellingtonpotters.org.nz/upcoming-events
Other workshop events at WPA: Building Tea light Houses with hand building maestro, Peter Rumble, and a slab building bootcamp. See WPA members portal for more details.
Kāpiti region
MID WINTER CERAMICS FESTIVAL | Matariki Weekend “Where earth meets sky”. Fri July 10th & Sat July 11th, 2026.
This two day event brings together local artists, hands on experiences, and a vibrant festival atmosphere, set alongside the Ōtaki Māori Racing Club.
Immerse yourself in the Matariki cultural narratives and explore the magic of ceramics. Take home your own pottery treasures and enjoy diverse activities, engaging exhibits, delightful cuisine, beautiful music, and more.
Whakarongorongo ki ngā kōrero ahurea o Matariki me te tūhuratanga i te mākutu o ngā rauemi keramika. Kākahu atu i ōu taonga keramika, ā, whakangahau i ngā kaupapa rerekē, ngā whakaaturanga whakaoho, ngā kai reka, ngā waiata ātaahua, me te nui atu.
Ōtaki Pottery Club June ’26 Exhibition at Tote Modern Gallery (47 Te Roto Road, Ōtaki).
Guest ceramicist Diane Greenwood. Diane has had a long-term association with multiple forms of art, over time building a substantial practice in glass casting, painting and ceramics, initially in Auckland before moving to Waikanae in 2000. “ln this exhibition I explore transformation,” says Diane, “presenting provocative, unsettling and mysterious human forms that seem to move between states of being; and strangely asymmetrical vessels that seem to wilt and bend under their weight in a series moving towards more basic, stronger organic forms.” Images and text source: Ōtaki Pottery Club.
Wellington painter Jude Whitcombe has exhibited in group and solo shows in Wellington and Queenstown. Her abstract paintings are both intuitive and controlled and have been greatly influenced by some of the great American painters of the 1940s and 1950s such as Mark Rothko, Clyfford Still and Robert Ryman.
“My Tote paintings focus on the unusual alliance between science and the arts,” says Jude.
“They reflect how humanity alters paradigms and constructs new ones as we learn more about ourselves and our place in the cosmos. For example, Aristotle’s definitive proof that the earth was a round sphere was just one insight our understanding of our place in the cosmos. My paintings are born from a curiosity about humankind’s survival and evolution throughout history.”
Tote Modern, Ōtaki. Gallery hours: Fri-Sun 10-3pm.
Incase you missed guest artist exhibition of Debbie Pointon, a Kāpiti based potter Expressions in Clay: https://pataka.org.nz/whats-on/exhibitions/expressions-in-clay/
Debbie Pointon (2026).
Whakaoriori | Masterton
Janna van Hasselt: Blowout! is a loud and lavish party and everyone is invited! https://www.aratoi.org.nz/exhibition Showing 16 May 2026 – 9 August 2026.
Janna van Hasselt (aratoi, 2026).
Hundreds of hand-sculpted porcelain tendrils protrude from a glowing pink surface; their forms and details outlined in a rainbow of hues. The filaments twist, curl and furl and appear to be blown into the space as if blasted outward by a hidden hairdryer.
The installation catches a moment in time; interrupting an unruly social affair. However, we sense that when no longer under scrutiny, the party just might continue to writhe and pulse away behind closed doors.
While the scene appears celebratory, there is also a grotesque overtone evident with oversized and misshapen pores and obvious fingerprint traces left in the clay. Pointed and painted tendril tips reach out as if to grasp at any stray passers-by with their neon pink manicures.
Matariki | Te Ika-a-Māui
Here’s to celebrating your 2026 Matariki New Year from around the western periphery.
Te Whanganui-a-tara https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/visit/events/matariki-2026-at-te-papa
Matariki on Moana: Performance: July 11 | Hollie Smith, Ōtaki Beach, Kapiti. https://events.humanitix.com/matariki-on-moana-kzd5gszt
Matariki | Ngā motou New Plymouth
Puanga & Matariki: A Living Experience https://www.eventfinda.co.nz/2026/puanga-matariki-living-experience/new-plymouth
If you have news, ceramic hacks, events exhibitions… please share for our next bi-monthly online edition to Stephanie at wellingtonwestern@ceramicsnz.org
Ngā mihi anō
Stephanie