Nigel John Floyd Borell (born 1973) is a New Zealand

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

artist, museum curator, and

Māori art Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

advocate. He curated the exhibition ''Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art'' at 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 ...

in 2020, the largest exhibition since they opened. In 2021 the Art Foundation of New Zealand created an award (He Momo – A Moment in Time Award) to acknowledge the work of Borrell in this exhibition.

Biography

Borell was born in 1973 and grew up in

Ōtāhuhu Ōtāhuhu is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand – to the southeast of the CBD, on a narrow isthmus between an arm of the Manukau Harbour to the west and the Tamaki River estuary to the east. The isthmus is the narrowest connection between the ...

and

Manurewa Manurewa is a major suburb in South Auckland, New Zealand. It was part of Manukau City before the creation of the Auckland super city in 2010. It is located south of the Manukau, Manukau City Centre, and southeast of Auckland CBD. The subur ...

in South

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 ...

. He is a twin and has two older siblings. Borell is Māori of Pirirākau,

Ngāi Te Rangi Ngāi Te Rangi or Ngāiterangi is a Māori iwi, based in Tauranga, New Zealand. Its rohe (tribal area) extends to Mayor Island / Tuhua and Bowentown in the north, to the Kaimai Range in the west, south of Te Puke and to Maketu in the east. Ngāi ...

Ngāti Ranginui Ngāti Ranginui is a Māori iwi (tribe) in Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. Its rohe (tribal area) extends from Waihi in the north, to the Kaimai Range in the west, to south of Te Puke in the south, and to Tauranga in the east. The rohe does not exten ...

, and Te

Whakatōhea Whakatōhea is a Māori people, Māori iwi located in the eastern Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand. The iwi is traditionally centred in the area around the town of Ōpōtiki. The traditional territorial lands extend eastwards from Ohiwa Har ...

descent. His early influences included the Peter Gossage series of Māui illustrated books. He completed a Bachelor of Māori Visual Arts at

Massey University Massey University ( mi, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa) is a university based in Palmerston North, New Zealand, with significant campuses in Albany and Wellington. Massey University has approximately 30,883 students, 13,796 of whom are extramural or ...

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

in 2000. There he studied under

Robert Jahnke Robert Hans George Jahnke (born 1951) is a New Zealand artist and educator, well-known for his graphic and sculptural artwork. He is a professor of Māori visual arts at Massey University. Biography and education Jahnke was born in 1951 in t ...

and the Toioho ki Apiti programme. He followed this by completing a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admini ...

Elam School of Fine Arts The Elam School of Fine Arts, founded by John Edward Elam, is part of the Faculty of Creative Arts and Industries at the University of Auckland. Students study degrees in fine art with an emphasis on a multidisciplinary approach. The schoo ...

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 2003. He has hands-on experience in Māori arts, working on three meeting house projects under tohunga whakaio Pakariki (Paki) Harrison 1995-2000 and kowhaiwhai artist

Peter Boyd Peter Boyd (born 1950) is a world champion American bridge player. He has won one world championship, finished second in another, and won 17 North American bridge championships. Boyd was born in Washington, DC and still lives there. He graduated ...

, and has been influenced by Māori curators Megan Tamati-Quennell and Ngahiraka Mason. Borell was Associate Curator Māori Art at Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira from 2013 and Curator Māori Art at

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 ...

since 2015. At the gallery he worked for years on the largest exhibition since the gallery opened over 130 years ago called '' Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art.'' It featured work by 110 artists and brought in more visitors than any other exhibition since 1989''.'' The documentary of the exhibition is by

Chelsea Winstanley Chelsea Jane Winstanley (born 30 January 1976) is a New Zealand film producer. She produces short films and documentaries which celebrate Indigenous peoples. She also produced the films ''What We Do in the Shadows'' and ''Jojo Rabbit''. Career ...

. Borell resigned from his role at the art gallery in January 2021 soon after ''Toi Tū Toi Ora'' opened stating the there was a lack of control awarded to him in the lead up and calling for 'colonial institutions to share power more equally'. In 2022 it was announced he would return to Auckland War Memorial Museum as Curator

Taonga ''Taonga'' or ''taoka'' (in South Island Māori) is a Maori-language word that refers to a treasured possession in Māori culture. It lacks a direct translation into English, making its use in the Treaty of Waitangi significant. The current d ...

Māori, the role previously held by Chanel Clarke. Borell is a trustee and curator of The Wairau Māori Art Gallery in the Hundertwasser Building in Whangarei, the first public Māori art gallery solely dedicated to profiling Māori artists and curators.

Art

Borell’s work features on the ceiling of Ngā Kete Wānanga Marae,

Manukau Institute of Technology Established in 1970, Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT) ( mi, Te Whare Takiura o Manukau) is a large Category One institute of technology in Auckland, New Zealand. Category One is the highest possible educational rating as evaluated by the ...

Ōtara Ōtara is a suburb of South Auckland, New Zealand (formerly Manukau City), situated 18 kilometres to the southeast of the Auckland CBD. Ōtara lies near the head of the Tamaki River (actually an arm of the Hauraki Gulf), which extends south tow ...

Selected publications

* ''Te Atinga: 25 years of Contemporary Māori Art''. Wellington, New Zealand: Toi Maori Aotearoa, 2013.

Awards and honours

* 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 (document), royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of New Zealand, Queen of New Zealand, "for those ...

in the 2022 New Years Honours. * 2021 - Art Foundation’s inaugural He Momo – A Moment in Time Award for the Toi Tū Toi Ora exhibition.

Exhibitions

* ''Pirirakau: Bush Beautiful'', The Lane Gallery, Auckland 2006 * ''The Māori Portraits: Gottfried Lindauer’s New Zealand'', Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki/Young Fine Arts Museum, Auckland/San Francisco 2017 * ''Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art'', Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, Auckland 2020

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Borell, Nigel 1973 births Elam Art School alumni Living people Massey University alumni Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand art curators New Zealand artists New Zealand Māori artists Ngāi Te Rangi people Ngāti Ranginui people Whakatōhea people Artists from Auckland People from Manurewa