Bethany Matai Edmunds (born 1978) is a
New Zealand Māori weaver,
textile artist, museum professional and
hip hop lyricist. She is affiliated with
Ngāti Kurī
Ngāti Kurī is a Māori iwi from Northland, New Zealand. The iwi is one of the five Muriwhenua iwi of the far north of the North Island. Ngāti Kurī trace their whakapapa (ancestry) back to Pōhurihanga, the captain of the waka (canoe) Kurahau ...
iwi.
Her works are held in the collection of the Auckland City Gallery.
Biography
Edmunds was born in 1978.
She has a Bachelor of Applied Arts: Māori Design and Technology and while studying received tutoring from the renowned cloak weaver
Nikki Lawrence
Nikki may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Nikki (Barbie), a fashion doll in the Barbie toy line
* Nikki (comics), a Marvel Comics character
* Nikki and Paulo, from the TV series ''Lost''
* Nikki, the mascot of Swapnote
* N ...
.
Edmunds went on to study at
New York University where she gained a Master of Arts degree.
She investigated the conservation, storage and display of Māori cloaks across four museums in the United States of America.
While in America she was chosen to work as an intern at the
National Museum of the American Indian.
She has worked for the
Auckland War Memorial Museum as a youth outreach programmer and has also been involved in the museum's Te Awe project. Edmunds also works to ensure the survival of korowai (cloak) weaving.
Art
Edmunds is a multidisciplinary artist, with weaving being an integral part of her practice.
She uses the knowledge she has obtained from both her Māori and Pākehā heritage to interpret her traditional knowledge into contemporary artworks.
Artworks created by Edmunds are held in the collection of the Auckland City Gallery.
She has exhibited her art around New Zealand and internationally.
She is a member of The Pacific Sisters, an art collective of Māori and Pacific women.
Edmunds is also a hip hip lyricist.
She uses the name and is a member of the band Kinaki.
Awards and honours
* 2009 Recipient of the
Kate Sheppard Memorial Trust National Award Kate name may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Kate (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or nickname
* Gyula Káté (born 1982), Hungarian amateur boxer
* Lauren Kate (born 1981), American autho ...
Exhibitions
* ''pART mAOri'', Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Cambridge, UK 2006.
*''Ngā Pai ō Hina'', Auckland Central City Library, Auckland 2018.
*''Te Kōpū'',
Māngere Arts Centre Ngā Tohu o Uenuku, Auckland 2018.
*''Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art,'' Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, Auckland 2020.
References
External links
Video interviewof Bethany Edmunds on the Te Kōpū exhibition.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edmunds, Bethany Matai
1978 births
Living people
New Zealand Māori weavers
Ngāti Kurī people