Raymond Henry "Sandy" Adsett (born 27 August 1939) is a New Zealand visual artist and educator. He is acknowledged for championing the art of kōwhaiwhai painting, creating a context for the artform within the development of contemporary

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 ...

. In 2020 Adsett was honoured by the

Arts Foundation of New Zealand 'The Arts Foundation of New Zealand Te Tumu Toi is a New Zealand arts organisation that supports artistic excellence and facilitates private philanthropy through raising funds for the arts and allocating it to New Zealand artists. The concept ...

with an Icon Whakamana Hiranga award "for his profound impact on the Māori community and Māori arts education system within Aotearoa."

Biography

Adsett was born in

Raupunga Raupunga is a small settlement in the northern Hawke's Bay Region of New Zealand's eastern North Island. It is located close to the country's highest railway bridge, the Mohaka Viaduct, which crosses the Mohaka River. The predominantly Māori ...

near

Wairoa Wairoa is a town and territorial authority district in New Zealand's North Island. The town is the northernmost in the Hawke's Bay region, and is located on the northern shore of Hawke Bay at the mouth of the Wairoa River and to the west of ...

on 27 August 1939. Of

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 ...

descent, he affiliates to

Ngāti Kahungunu Ngāti Kahungunu is a Māori iwi located along the eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The iwi is traditionally centred in the Hawke's Bay and Wairārapa regions. The tribe is organised into six geographical and administrative di ...

and

Ngāti Pāhauwera Ngāti Pāhauwera is a Māori iwi of Aotearoa. See also *List of Māori iwi This is a list of iwi (New Zealand Māori tribes). List of iwi This list includes groups recognised as iwi (tribes) in certain contexts. Many are also hapū (sub- ...

. He attended

Te Aute College Te Aute College (Māori: Te Kura o Te Aute) is a school in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand. It opened in 1854 with twelve pupils under Samuel Williams, an Anglican missionary, and nephew and son-in-law of Bishop William Williams. It has a ...

in Hawkes Bay. His interest in art first began on his family farm as a way to fill in time and grew from there. He received his first formal art training at Ardmore Teachers' College in Auckland. He completed his third year of teachers' college in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

. While at Ardmore, he began travelling to regional schools to introduce Māori arts into the school syllabus. This was a focus of his work that would continue throughout his life. He was one of a group of teachers that started this work in the 1960s. In 1961, Adsett became an arts specialist for the Department of Education's Advisory Service, within a programme established by educational leader Gordon Tovey. Adsett has cited the mentorship of the

Ngāti Porou Ngāti Porou is a Māori iwi traditionally located in the East Cape and Gisborne regions of the North Island of New Zealand. Ngāti Porou is affiliated with the 28th Maori Battalion and has the second-largest affiliation of any iwi in New Zealand ...

master carver

Pine Taiapa Pineamine "Pine" Taiapa (1901–1972) was a notable New Zealand wood carver, farmer, rehabilitation officer, writer and genealogist. He was one of the first students of the School of Māori Arts in Rotorua under Āpirana Ngata. As a carver ...

as the most significant influence on his life as an artist and educator. Adsett's role in the department was helping introduce the new Māori Arts in Schools programme. In 1991, Adsett became a principal tutor at Tairawhiti Polytechnic in Gisborne, working in the Toihoukura School of Māori Visual Arts. He took over from Ivan Ehau, the founder of the school, who had died that year. Adsett was involved in formatting a ''

wānanga In the education system of New Zealand, a wānanga is a publicly-owned tertiary institution that provides education in a Māori cultural context. Section 162 of the New Zealand Education Act of 1989 specifies that wānanga resemble mainstrea ...

'' arts direction for the progamme. In 2002, Adsett returned to Hawke's Bay, where he set up the Toimairangi School of Māori Visual Culture within

Te Wānanga o Aotearoa Te Wānanga o Aotearoa is an indigenous tertiary education provider with over 80 campuses throughout New Zealand. As a Māori-led organisation grounded in Māori values, Te Wānanga o Aotearoa is committed to the revitalisation of Māori cultu ...

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

. He continues to work there as an adjunct professor. Outside of his work in the education sector, Adsett's own artwork has been included in major art exhibitions. This includes: "Headlands" (1992) in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, Australia; "Te Waka Toi" (1992-1994), which toured the United States; and "Toi tū Toi Ora" at Auckland Art Gallery.

Honours and awards

In the

2005 New Year Honours New Year Honours were granted in the United Kingdom and New Zealand at the start of 2005. Among these in the UK were knighthoods awarded to Mike Tomlinson, the educationalist; Derek Wanless, who led a review of the National Health Service; and ...

, Adsett 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 ...

, for services to art. In 2014, Adsett was conferred an honorary doctorate by Massey University, and he received Te Tohu o Te Papa Tongarewa Rongomaraeroa award in the 2018 Te Waka Toi Awards. In 2020, Adsett was named as an Arts Foundation of New Zealand Icon, an honour limited to 20 living New Zealanders.

Collections

Adsett's work is held in public gallery collections throughout Aotearoa New Zealand, including:
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki

Waikato Museum Te Whare Taonga o Waikato

Tairawhiti Museum Te Whare Taonga o te Tairawhiti

Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare o Rehua Whanganui

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

References

External links

Te Waka Toi Awards
Te Ao Maori News, 7 December 2014 (video interview)
Sandy Adsett - Te Waka Toi Awards 2018
CreativeNZ, 19 November 2018 (video interview)
Influence: Dr Sandy Adsett
Te Ahi Kaa, RNZ, 5 May 2019 (radio interview)
Artist Sandy Adsett honoured with Arts Foundation medal
Seven Sharp, 3 July 2020 (television clip)
New Arts Icon Sandy Adsett
Saturday Morning, RNZ, 4 July 2020 (radio interview) {{DEFAULTSORT:Adsett, Sandy 1939 births Living people Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand Māori artists Ngāti Kahungunu people Ngāti Pāhauwera people 20th-century New Zealand artists 21st-century New Zealand artists New Zealand painters People from the Hawke's Bay Region University of Otago alumni