The first indigenous person from the Pacific to ever hold a curatorial position at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, Dr Maia Nuku (Ngāi Tai), has described winning the supreme award at the Kea World Class New Zealand Awardsin Tāmaki Makaurau on Thursday evening as “thrilling”.
The awards celebrate Kiwis who lead and shape industries around the globe, helping build New Zealand’s reputation on the world stage.
Nuku said it was “absolutely amazing” to be given the award and to be acknowledged for her overseas mahi.
“New York is a full-on place and sometimes you feel like you are in the trenches, just head down doing it. So to come up for air and have people acknowledge the efforts you have been making is really incredible and thrilling and I’m so grateful,” she said.
This year’s award winners included educationalist Joanne McEachen (Waitaha, Ngāti Māmoe, Ngāi Tahu), humanitarian Mark Inglis, environmentalist Brianne West, human rights activist Dr Natasha Anu Anandaraja, molecular Immunologist Dr Professor Cristin Print, and space consultants and “friends of New Zealand’ Eric Dalstrom and Emeline Paat-Dalstrom who although not born here contribute to New Zealand’s success on the world stage.
Kea co-chair Mitchell Pham ONZM FCPA (right rear) with Kea World Classs New Zealand Awards 2023 winners (clockwise from left): Maia Nuku, Toni Truslove, Cristin Print, Joanne McEachen, Natasha Anushri Anandaraja, Mark Inglis ONZM, Brianne West, Emeline Paat-Dahlstrom and Eric Dahlstrom. Photo / Kea
A lifetime of advocating for Māori and Pacific peoples has seen Nuku significantly increase understanding of Māori and Pacific art and build on the connections of working with leaders and iwi to ensure their art and culture are consistently represented in the right way, the awards organisers said.
This year’s award winners included educationalist Joanne McEachen (Waitaha, Ngāti Māmoe, Ngāi Tahu), humanitarian Mark Inglis, environmentalist Brianne West, human rights activist Dr Natasha Anu Anandaraja, molecular Immunologist Dr Professor Cristin Print, and space consultants and ‘friends of New Zealand” Eric Dalstrom and Emeline Paat-Dalstrom who although not born here contribute to New Zealand’s success on the world stage.
Kea Global CEO Toni Truslove said the awards are a shining example of the power of the global Kiwi community coming together to support each other and achieve remarkable things.
“The common thread that binds all our winners is that their success was not achieved on their own, rather it was often fellow Kiwis who supported them to take on the world, Kiwis who took a call, offered insight and advice and who didn’t hesitate to open doors. This willingness to help one another can be our absolute superpower,” she said.
This year’s winners were selected by an international panel of judges including former Governor-General Sir Jerry Mateparae, entrepreneurs Sarah Robb O’Hagen and Guy Royal, 2022 Kea supreme winner Miranda Harcourt, Kea Global co-chair Mitchell Pham and NZTE board director Jennifer Kerr.
