Horowhenua's next big star being celebrated on Matariki holiday

Faith Oriwia Henare-Stewart created her persona Te KuraHuia to provide rangatahi with an artist they could relate to - the person she needed when she was growing up. Photo / Supplied

The celebration of Matariki on Friday June 24 has an extra special meaning for local wahine Te KuraHuia, who is being touted as Horowhenua's next big star.

Te KuraHuia, aka Faith Oriwia Henare-Stewart, will also be celebrating her birthday that day, as well as the second exclusive screening of her debut visual EP UHA as part of the Ngā Whānaunga Māori Pasifika Shorts Programme, in Tāmaki Makaurau.

"Whakanuia te tau hou Māori! Matariki e ara e! It's beautiful to see how much more our community are involved to celebrate Matariki," she said.

Raised as a whāngai by her Māori grandparents and godmother, the 22-year-old Māori-Samoan is an emerging multi-disciplinary artist who is already an accomplished film director, weaver, performer and social media influencer.

The stunning cover for the UHA Descendants EP features Mania Samuels (left) and Shechinah Glory Henare Morgan (right) with photography by Kiran Patel. Photo / Supplied

Te KuraHuia's cultural background encompasses a number of iwis throughout New Zealand - Ngāi Tara ki te Muaūpoko o te Ika a Māui Tikitiki-a-Taranga, Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga, Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Apa ki Te Rā Tō, Ngāi Tahu, and Ngāti Kuia.

"I want to make [my goals and dreams] come true ... to give back to my people and honour my late ancestors," said Te KuraHuia.

Singing since childhood, including in the church her grandfather was pastor of, this passion carried on through Te KuraHuia's time at Te Kura-ā-Iwi o Whakatupuranga Rua Mano in Ōtaki, where she performed in kapa haka and school bands.

In 2015, as part of a school band called OREO, she won the best song award at the Smokefree Rockquest competition.

"Being part of the band gave me a taste of what I wanted to do ... but I didn't believe I could make a career out of singing."

The turning point for Te KuraHuia came when she enrolled as a student at UCOL in 2021 to study the NZ Certificate in Music.

At the same time, she had the opportunity to take advantage of a programme designed to help rangitahi create business plans for their goals.

Through this programme Te KuraHuia was encouraged to apply for the Creative NZ Toi Tipu Toi Rea Emerging Artist fund, and in December 2021 was awarded $10,000 to help fund her dream.

The funds were put towards the visual EP UHA, which she created, directed and produced herself.

"Uha is an ancient Māori word for woman. A word to reconnect us to the first woman, me aro ki te hā o Hineahuone."

Wanting to teach the importance of whakapapa by honouring Hineahuone through this project, the EP contains two reo Māori songs and one special bilingual track (BMW) that focuses on wahine and their contributions to Māori music, performing arts, toi Māori and reo Māori.

Although the visual EP is not yet available for general viewing, you can check out the songs via Te KuraHuia's YouTube channel: YouTube - Te KuraHuia

Te KuraHuia created her Thee Bad Mana Wahine persona because the only artist she looked up to when she was young was Hannah Montana, but she really wanted someone from her own background that she could identify with.

"So today I am being that person that I needed as a child growing up," said Te KuraHuia. "Since I made the decision to follow my dreams, I haven't been more happy and in love with myself."

Next steps for Te KuraHuia include completing the New Zealand Diploma in Creativity (Music) at UCOL this year and to apply for funding to Te Māngai Pāho to enable her to create more reo Māori music.

Keen to collaborate with other Māori visual artists and musicians for future projects, Te KuraHuia would love people to get in touch so "more rangatahi can be inspired to aim for the highest peak of their own mountain": Thee Bad Mana Wahine