Marafetu Togakilo Smith (born ) is a

weaver Weaver or Weavers may refer to: Activities * A person who engages in weaving fabric Animals * Various birds of the family Ploceidae * Crevice weaver spider family * Orb-weaver spider family * Weever (or weever-fish) Arts and entertainmen ...

and community activist from

Niue Niue is a self-governing island country in free association with New Zealand. It is situated in the South Pacific Ocean and is part of Polynesia, and predominantly inhabited by Polynesians. One of the world's largest coral islands, Niue is c ...

. She founded the first Niuean weaving group in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, and her work is held in the collections of

Auckland War Memorial Museum The Auckland War Memorial Museum (), also known as Auckland Museum, is one of New Zealand's most important museums and war memorials. Its neoclassical architecture, neoclassical building constructed in the 1920s and 1950s, stands on Observatory ...

and

Te Papa The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. Usually known as Te Papa (Māori language, Māori for 'Waka huia, the treasure box'), it opened in 1998 after the merging of the Nation ...

Career

In 1984, Smith founded the first Niuean weaving group in Auckland, called ''Tufuga Mataponiu a Niue''. She eventually ran several groups for women from separate villages in Niue. Her sister Eseta Patii was also a weaver. Smith is also a dancer and choreographer, working with women's groups. She is also a former co-ordinator of the Niue Village at the

Pasifika Festival The Pasifika Festival is a festival celebrating Pasifika New Zealanders and their pan-cultural identity, held annually in Western Springs Reserve, Auckland. Celebrated since 1993, it is the largest festival of its type in the world and attra ...

. In 2000, she attended the Pacific Arts Festival in

Nouméa Nouméa () is the capital and largest city of the French Sui generis collectivity, special collectivity of New Caledonia and is also the largest Francophone city in Oceania. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main i ...

. In 2007, Smith accompanied

Anand Satyanand Sir Anand Satyanand (born 22 July 1944) is a New Zealand lawyer, judge, and ombudsman who served as the 19th governor-general of New Zealand from 2006 to 2011. Satyanand was chair of the Commonwealth Foundation for two 2-year terms, ending in ...

to Niue, where a symposium of Niuean weaving was held. In 2009, she was appointed to Creative New Zealand's Pacific Arts Committee, alongside Frances Hartnell.

Legacy

has one of Smith's designs in its collection. Two woven pieces by her are in the

collection: a basket called a Kato Fuakina and an 'ei (headpiece). Works created by weaving groups that Smith facilitated are held in the collection of the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

Awards

Creative New Zealand The Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa (Creative New Zealand) is the national arts development agency of the New Zealand government established in 1963. It invests in artists and arts organisations, offering capability building programmes a ...

Senior Pacific Artist Award

References

External links

Tukituki e fua tuitui
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Matafetu Living people 1920s births Niuean women New Zealand weavers New Zealand community activists Niuean artists Textile artists