Edith Amituanai (born 1980) is a New Zealand photographic artist. In 2007, she was the inaugural recipient of the Marti Friedlander Photographic Award. Examples of her work are held in the collections of

Te Papa The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. ''Te Papa Tongarewa'' translates literally to "container of treasures" or in full "container of treasured things and people that spring fr ...

Auckland Art Gallery Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki is the principal public gallery in Auckland, New Zealand. It has the most extensive collection of national and international art in New Zealand and frequently hosts travelling international exhibitions. Set be ...

, and the

Govett-Brewster Art Gallery The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery is a contemporary art museum at New Plymouth, Taranaki, New Zealand. The gallery receives core funding from the New Plymouth District Council. Govett-Brewster is recognised internationally for contemporary art. H ...

Biography

Amituanai was born in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

in 1980 to parents who had emigrated from

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

. She was raised in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

and now is located in Ranui, West Auckland. In 2005, Amituanai completed a Bachelor of Design at

Unitec Institute of Technology Unitec Institute of Technology (Māori: Te Whare Wānanga o Wairaka) is the largest institute of technology in Auckland, New Zealand. 16,844 students study programmes from certificate to postgraduate degree level (levels 1 to 9) across a range of ...

. Amituanai's photography first came to the attention of the art world while she attended Unitec, when her work was included in the ''Break/Shift'' exhibition (2004) at the

. Her work was later included in the Lara Strongman book ''Contemporary New Zealand Photographers'' (2006), documenting her work as an emerging artist. In 2009 she completed her Masters of Fine Arts from Elam School of Fine Arts at the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

. In 2008 she was the first Pasifika artist to be nominated for the

Walters Prize The Walters Prize is New Zealand's largest contemporary art prize. Held biennially since 2002, the prize aims to 'make contemporary art a more widely recognised and debated feature of cultural life'. The prize is named in honour of New Zealand ab ...

for ''Déjeuner'', an exhibition depicting her cousin after a rugby practice session in France. In 2015, Amituanai founded ETA (Edith’s Talent Agency), an art project documenting the communities near her local suburb of Ranui. She is also the arts co-ordinator at Ranui Action Project, a local community development programme. 2019 was the first survey exhibition of her work at the Adams Art gallery in Wellington curated by Ema Tonga and included over 60 of her photographs. Amittuanai received the KLM Paul Huf Award, Amsterdam, and in 2019 Amituanai was appointed a

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...

in the 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours, for services to photography and community. Her artwork is held in the collections of

(the national museum of New Zealand), Govett-Brewster Art Gallery and the

Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki is the principal public gallery in Auckland, New Zealand. It has the most extensive collection of national and international art in New Zealand and frequently hosts travelling international exhibitions. Set be ...

Artistry

Amituanai's photography focuses on diaspora experiences in New Zealand, family communities, urban environments and amplifying unseen and unheard people. Many of her works depict Pasifika in Aotearoa, and transnational domestic interiors of Samoan diaspora houses. Amituanai is inspired by documentary photography, and has a commitment to community engagement with her subjects. Amituanai's documentation of diaspora communities in West Auckland have been described as challenging the dominant myth that West Auckland is primarily a European area. Her work features aspects of both straight documentary photography and

staged photography Staged photography is a form of photography where the photographer, like a director, stages everything in advance to have full control over how his or her idea is visualized. Although the staging of a photograph was already common in the early da ...

. Her works variously confront her parents' cultural values in a new context, celebrate her parents' generation's Samoan traditions such as marriage in a New Zealand context, and document the ways in which Pasifika communities establish new lives while maintaining connections to their homeland.

Personal life

Amituanai got married in 2005. At the time, she was the first "Mrs Amituanai" in her husband's household for 14 years, after the untimely death of his mother.

Residencies

* 2014 – Taipei Artist Village resident. * 2017 – Flaxmere’s Kimi Ora Community School.

Books

''Keep on Kimi Ora'' (2018) – – collaboration with Kimi Ora Primary School in

Flaxmere Flaxmere ( mi, Paharakeke) is a township in the Hastings District and outlying suburb of Hastings City, in the Hawke's Bay Region of New Zealand's North Island. It consists of a series of cul-de-sacs, radiating from a main street. History The ...

Exhibitions

*2006 – '' Mrs Amituanai''. RAMP Gallery,

Waikato Institute of Technology The Waikato Institute of Technology, also known as Wintec, is an institute of technology based in New Zealand's Waikato region. Wintec offers over 130 degrees, diplomas and certificates. Wintec specialises in applied tertiary training for nurses ...

, City Campus (

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

.) *2013 – ''Through the Key Hole''. Collaboration with Claire Harris and Erwin Olaf. Enjoy Contemporary Art Space,

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

. *2013–2014 – ''La fine del mondo,''

. Auckland. (Part of Freedom Farmers: New Zealand.) *2019 – ''Double Take.'' Survey exhibition. Adam Art Gallery, Wellington, Curated by Ane Tonga. *2020–2021– ''In Our Sea of Island's.'' Collaboration with George Crummer. The Homestead Galleries,

. *2021 – ''The Moon Was Talking'', Collaboration with

Kelston Girls College Kelston is a small village and civil parish in Somerset, north west of Bath, and east of Bristol, on the A431 road. It is situated just north of the River Avon, close to the Kelston and Saltford locks. The parish has a population of 248. ...

, Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery. Auckland. *2021 – ‘''La’u Pele Moana'' (My darling Moana)’ series. QAGOMA’s landmark exhibition series.The Gallery of Modern Art (

Queensland Art Gallery The Queensland Art Gallery (QAG) is an art museum located in South Bank, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The gallery is part of QAGOMA. It complements the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) building, situated only away. The Queensland Art Gallery ...

Group exhibitions

*2004 – ''Break/Shift'', the

New Plymouth New Plymouth ( mi, Ngāmotu) is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, Devon from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. ...

*2013 – ''Pictures They Want to Make: Recent Auckland Photography'' Northart,

, 20 May – 12 June 2013. *2021 – ''Time Drag'' Anna Miles Gallery, Auckland. 30 May – 3 July 2021.

Awards

*2007 – Marti Friedlander Photographic Award *2008 –

nominee (first nominee of Pacific descent.)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amituanai, Edith 21st-century New Zealand women artists 21st-century women photographers Artists from Auckland Living people Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand people of Samoan descent New Zealand photographers New Zealand women photographers Samoan artists Artists from Christchurch 1980 births Photographers from Auckland