Art expert to join tupuna in his 'beloved' Hokianga

Jonathan Mane-Wheoki was seen as a brilliant and strong Maori voice in art history, fine arts education and cultural exchange. Photo / File

A Maori scholar who had a major influence on the arts in New Zealand will be buried among his whanau and tupuna at Piki Te Aroha Marae in Horeke.

Jonathan Ngarimu Mane-Wheoki (CNZM), 70, from Ngapuhi, Te Aupouri, Ngati Kuri, died last week of pancreatic cancer.

He will take his final journey north to Horeke after a service at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Auckland on Saturday.

Tributes are pouring in from the art and academic world to a man described as "a brilliant and strong Maori voice in art history, architecture, fine arts education, cultural exchange and critical writing".

Professor Mane-Wheoki spent much of his career at the University of Canterbury as senior lecturer in art history and dean of music and fine arts, before becoming director of art and collection services at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.

From 2009 to 2011, he headed Elam School of Fine Arts at the University of Auckland.

In 2013, he returned to the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa as head of arts and visual culture.

Whangarei Art Museum Te Manawa Toi director Scott Pothan described Professor Mane-Wheoki as an open and enthusiastic supporter of the museum over many years.

"He opened exhibitions at WAM and was the official peer reviewer for Te Papa of the Whangarei Art Museum in 2001. His report was glowing and heartfelt," Mr Pothan said.

"More significantly for Te Tai Tokerau was his prolonged investigative research on the birth of contemporary Maori art right here in Northland in the 1950s. We spoke often of his wish to see a museum in Te Tai Tokerau which told this remarkable story of the Northern Maori Project and the famous artists it fostered. He will be buried in his beloved Hokianga across the waters from the most celebrated artist of this era, Ralph Hotere."

Professor Mane-Wheoki served on a wide range of national and international bodies, including the Arts Council of Creative New Zealand, the Humanities Panel and Council of the Marsden Fund, the Council and Humanities and Social Sciences Panel of the Royal Society of New Zealand and the Advisory Council of the Centre Culturel Tjibaou in Noumea.