Huhana Smith
Huhana Smith (born 1962) is a contemporary New Zealand Māori artist and academic, and head of Whiti o Rehua School of Art, Massey University. Between 2003 and 2009, she was senior curator Māori at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Background. Born in 1962 in Yarrawonga, Victoria, Australia, Smith is of Māori descent and affiliates to Ngāti Tukorehe and Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga. She came to New Zealand in 1993 to pursue her studies in Mâori language. She was the first graduate from the Bachelor of Māori Visual Arts programme at Massey in 1997. She  also holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Museum Studies (1998) and a PhD in Māori Studies from Massey University. Career. Smith's recent research, part of a large interdisciplinary project with Deep South Challenge National Science Challenge funding combines mātauranga Māori methods with science to actively address climate change concerns for coastal Māori lands in Horowhenua-Kāpiti. It was exhibited in the Dowse Art Museum as part of the exhibition "This Time of Useful Consciousness: Political Ecology Now" in 2017. Awards. Smith was a finalist in the Art Waikato National Art Awards in 2000 and 2002.