Musician/artist Tama Waipara has been appointed to the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa board.
In a statement, Manatū Taonga (the Ministry for Culture and Heritage) said Waipara (Ngāti Ruapani, Rongowhakaata, Ngāti Porou) was a prominent artist and creative director with considerable experience in, and in-depth knowledge of, the performing arts and heritage sectors.
He brings more than 10 years of experience creating, developing and managing arts festivals, and has held roles such as creative associate of the Auckland Festival Trust and Arts and culture programme leader (Māori) at Auckland Council. He is now Te Tairawhiti Arts Festival chief executive/artistic director.
Wēta Workshop’s general manager, David Wilks, has also been appointed to the board. He has previously been director of the commercial business unit at the Department of Conservation, and general manager of tourism development at Tourism New Zealand.
Two current board members, Jackie Lloyd and Andy Lowe, have also been reappointed for a further three-year term.