Aroha Matchitt-Millar

Ko wai koe?
Ko Ruawahia, ko Maungarangi ngā maunga
Ko Te Awa o te Atua, ko Otara ngā awa
Ko Te Arawa, ko te Whakatōhea, ko Tūhoe ngā iwi
Ko Muriwai rāua ko Rangitihi ngā tīpuna
Ko Ngāti Rangithi, ko Ngāti Ngahere ngā hapu
Ko Rangitihi, ko Terere ngā marae
Ko Aroha Wilson tōku Kuia
Ko Gina Matchitt tōku mama
Ko Aroha Matchitt Millar ahau

What are your pronouns?
she/they

Where are you living/working right now?
E noho ana au ki Pōneke

What do you do and why do you do it?
I am a maker of jewellery, blankets, beads, birds, and taonga. I enjoy adorning myself and the world around me with the stories of my tīpuna.

At the moment I’m working on a series of manu pōria that measure and capture my body. Manu Pōria are small devices that were used in the practice of domesticating birds pre-colonial contact. These devices were like bracelets squeezed onto the ankles of young birds that were often taught to recite whakapapa and karakia, or used as domesticated decoys to lure in other manu.

What do you love about art?
I love that art creates a pathway to explore myself and the stories hidden in my whakapapa. Often I will make and then research will come after, almost like a tactile transfer of knowledge to me from the materials I’m working with. And I love to share this with others. Share materials, stories, maatauranga so that others can have that tactile learning experience.

What are you reading/listening to/watching at the moment?
I’ve been listening to a lot of MĀ at the moment. I feel like her mahi really captures tinorangatiratanga in relation to our environment. Feeling stuck in an urban setting but needing to work in te taiao, I really connect to that as a weaver and a pelter.

Who is your art crush?
Okay so I’ve got two at the moment. First is Pepi Joy (@hardkoa_harikoa on insta). Her mahi is so fun, fabulously wearable, and imbued with kōrero about our taiao and whenua. Also Maia Keane (@whaeamaia), who is an incredibly talented kairaranga that pushes her medium through colour and pattern. She just made a kete with the burberry tartan print and I LOVE it.

If you had one wish for the art world what would it be?
My one wish for the art world is that all artists have a community group that they make and learn with, not to produce anything but to just play and create. I think it’s important to have people to learn alongside, bounce ideas off, and to figure out what you like to create. Community is what fuels my art and I wish that community learning was always included in any funding or time allocation.