Prominent Māori artist Emily Karaka's Ngāpuhi and Waikato-Tainui roots lie deep in Tāmaki (Glen Innes, Panmure, and Point England) and her whānau home once stood on the land where the Tongan Church in Maybury Street, Glen Innes, now stands.
As Karaka turns 70 next month, she has been given the keys to her own painting studio in the heart of the Glen Innes township opposite Te Oro, a music and arts centre for the youth of the community.
Tāmaki Regeneration Company (TRC) supported Karaka and the many artistic talents in Glen Innes by creating the studio, a space where makers and creatives can have a hui over coffee and kai.
"Even though I was one of the staunchest protestors against the whole company with Tamati Patuwai ... through time the benefits will be seen," she says.
"Better, safer warmer houses for sure, hence me working with the company ... the company is providing the space for me to give a hand up and add a profile to the arts in the arena it’s been built."
Global recognition
Karaka has had a long illustrious career as a Māori artist and her success has been known nationally and internationally for her political expressionistic paintings.
“I had a couple of biennales, one in Adelaide and one in Sydney recently and eent to San Diego with Te Waka Toi which was a great experience."
"It was a great tour with Cliff Whiting, Arnold Wilson, Selwyn Muru, all our pakeke.”
She's now been tasked with using her artistic ability to restore her neighbourhood and it was in Glen Innes where she was first inspired to pursue a career as an artist.
“I went to Tāmaki Intermediate and was very inspired by Greer Twiss, now known as the world's top sculptors. He was a young teacher and he was very concerned that I should go to a good high school for the arts curriculum, so I was sent to Auckland Girls Grammar.”
“I had some strong art teachers who steered me into the arts and Colin McCahon came to my first exhibition held in 1980 out at Outreach, which is now Arts Space on the corner of K Rd and Ponsonby Rd.”
Karaka’s work has been labelled controversial and political. She recalls a time when she was called an activist due to her paintings, a label she doesn’t find offensive at all, since she was standing up for people’s rights.
“It was Ross Meurant who was head of the Police Red Squad in the Springbok tour, [he was then elected to Parliament] at his maiden speech ... I hadn’t heard the speech but Syd Jackson called me and said, ‘Hey your name has been called out with ours in the House of Parliament ... threatening to overthrow the government.”
Her inspiration
As a descendant of Ngāi Tai and Te Uri o Te Ao, she has aspirations to bring forward stories of kaitiakitanga (guardianship) within iwi in Tāmaki Makaurau.
Karaka is now preparing works for The Good, The Bad Gallery at 11 Mayfair Street in Glen Innes.
“For Ngāi Tai, Maungarei a Potaka (Mt Wellington) is the original name of the maunga so having direct lineage and whakapapa, that is what I will paint in the painting for the first show at The Good, The Bad.”
“Just putting the whakapapa on the maunga to make sure that it’s seen and what it is for us.”
“I’ve been involved in a lot of findings for iwi on the maunga. Kaitiakitanga is really the roots of my paintings, make no mistake about that.”