Mary Tupai Ama is a Cook Islands-New Zealand artist and community arts organiser.

Biography

Ama was born in Vaka Takitumu in the southeast of the island of

Rarotonga Rarotonga is the largest and most populous of the Cook Islands. The island is volcanic, with an area of , and is home to almost 75% of the country's population, with 13,007 of a total population of 17,434. The Cook Islands' Parliament buildings a ...

in the

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

, and has Cook Island Maori, Samoan and English heritage. Her mother died when Ama was young and her father remarried, and Ama was raised by her grandparents. Ama immigrated to New Zealand in 1965, and worked for various government departments. Ama founded

Pacifica Mamas The Pacifica Mamas Arts and Cultural Trust is an arts collective based in Auckland, New Zealand, with the mission to pass on traditional Pacific arts. The arts collective are based at the Pacifica Arts Centre, located in the Corban Estate Arts Ce ...

, a community arts collective based in

Auckland, New Zealand 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 the late 1980s. The collective designs and delivers Pacific-based arts and cultural programmes in schools and the community both in New Zealand and overseas in the Cook Islands, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and the United States. Ama also developed a programme for Pacific prison inmates, which she has delivered at Spring Hill Correction Facility near

Huntly Huntly ( gd, Srath Bhalgaidh or ''Hunndaidh'') is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, formerly known as Milton of Strathbogie or simply Strathbogie. It had a population of 4,460 in 2004 and is the site of Huntly Castle. Its neighbouring settlemen ...

for more than ten years. Ama has been the Pacific Island Arts Advocate for the

Waitakere City Council Waitākere City was a territorial authority in West Auckland, New Zealand; it was governed by the Waitākere City Council from 1989 to 2010. It was New Zealand's fifth-largest city, with an annual growth of about 2%. In 2010 the council was a ...

and has taught at both

Mt Albert Grammar School Mount Albert Grammar School, commonly known as MAGS, is a co-educational state secondary school in Mount Albert in Auckland, New Zealand. It teaches students in year levels 9 to 13. , Mount Albert Grammar School is the second largest school in ...

and Corbans Estate Arts Centre. In 1998, Ama began working for the

, and as a part of Pacifica Mamas began teaching

tivaevae Tivaevae or tivaivai ( rar, tīvaevae) in the Cook Islands, tifaifai in French Polynesia, is a form of artistic quilting traditionally done by Polynesian women. The word literally means "patches", in reference to the pieces of material sewn toget ...

classes in 1999. She has delivered other Pacific arts, culture and community projects for

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa 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 War Memorial Museum, Auckland Council, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, and ASB Polyfest.

Recognition

In 2012, the collective won the Creative NZ Pacific Heritage Arts Award. In 2015, Ama and the Pacifica Mamas won the Arts Access Corrections Community Award for their work at Spring Hill. In the 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours, Ama was appointed a

Companion 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 ...

, for services to the arts and the Pacific community.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ama, Mary Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit Living people 21st-century New Zealand artists Cook Island emigrants to New Zealand Year of birth missing (living people) Cook Island artists People from Rarotonga