After half a century dedicated to furthering Māori visual arts, a Hastings man is to be recognised with a honorary doctorate.
Sandy Adsett will today be conferred with an honorary doctorate at Palmerston North, 12 years after graduating with a Master of Māori Visual Arts (MMVA) from Massey University in 2006.
Trained as an arts specialist for the Department of Education's Advisory service, he was involved in the development of a new focus on Māori art that was introduced into the 1961 schools' art syllabus.
In 1993 he was appointed principal tutor at Tairawhiti Polytechnic in Gisborne, developing a wananga approach for a more contemporary style of Māori arts programme for Toihoukura School of Māori Visual Arts.
He returned to his Ngati Kahungunu roots in 2002, setting up the Toimairangi School of Māori Visual Culture within Te Wananga o Aotearoa in Hastings.