Tā Pita Sharples and Neil Finn have each received the Arts Foundation’s Icon Award Whakamana Hiranga for 2024 for their lifetime achievements and mark on the arts.
They join a living circle of 20 of New Zealand’s most significant artists in what is the Arts Foundation’s highest honour.
Sharples (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngai Te Kikiri o te Rangi and Ngāti Pahauwera) has dedicated his life to preserving and revitalising the arts of kapa haka and mau rākau.
In 1983, he founded Te Whare Tū Taua o Aotearoa (the National School of Ancient Māori Weaponry), reviving the ceremonial and fighting art of mau rākau.
Photographer Jimmy Nelson says he took the photo at the Te Matatini national kapa haka festival in Gisborne in 2011, but did not know at the time who Dr Pita Sharples was.
In 1968, he established Te Roopū Manutaki, a Māori cultural group based at Hoani Waititi Marae in West Auckland, which played a crucial role in helping urban Māori stay connected to tikanga Māori and cultural identity.
With this rōpū, he has won Best Male Leader at Te Matatini on multiple occasions, also taking out top honours with Manutaki winning the nationals in 1976 and 1990.
Tā Pita led, performed, choreographed and composed kapa haka for the group, with several waiata and haka now recognised as classics. He is one of only nine life members of Te Matatini.
Neil Finn
For more than four decades, Neil Finn has been on an evolving journey, from joining his brother Tim in the 80s art/pop band Split Enz, to leading Crowded House, to his numerous solo efforts.
Nigel Griggs, Neil Finn, Tim Finn, Eddie Rayner, Malcolm Green and Noel Crombie of iconic Kiwi band Split Enz.
Crowded House’s mid-80s hits like Don’t Dream It’s Over and Something So Strong, combined with albums like Woodface and Together Alone, set the standard for the period’s erudite jangle-pop.
Icon Awards celebrate legacy
Established in 2003, the Icon Awards Whakamana Hiranga are the Arts Foundation’s highest honour, recognising the impact each artist has had on their practice, community, and the cultural landscape of Aotearoa.
This year marks a total of 46 artists honoured as Icon Whakamana Hiranga – 20 are living, while 26 have passed on.
Each Icon Whakamana Hiranga receives a bronze medallion set with pounamu and a pin designed by sculptor John Edgar.
The pin is given to the recipient, while the medallion passes on to a future icon at the time of their death.
