Overview
The School of Art – Whiti o Rehua is recognised internationally for staff who are acclaimed thinkers and makers.
Our work and industry experience spans diverse media, from photography to painting, digital art to sculpture. We courageously explore new creative fields, inspiring audiences to think and feel, reflect and act.
As we stand on Pukeahu, a sacred landmark for Wellington mana whenua Te Āti Awa, and with Te Rau Karamu Marae at the heart of our campus, we are expanding our Māori and Pacific creative practice.
Te Tiriti o Waitangi at Massey
We are deeply committed to being a Tiriti-led university, demonstrating authentic leadership in contemporary Aotearoa New Zealand as we uphold te Tiriti o Waitangi, the founding document of our nation, and its principles through our practice. We embrace this not just as an obligation but as a real opportunity for the nation and its people.
Te Tiriti o Waitangi ki Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – The Treaty of Waitangi at Massey
Study with us
Study Fine Arts with us, combining classes with technical workshops to hone your skills.
The school is closely aligned with the Kaupapa Māori-led Toioho ki Āpiti Māori Visual Arts qualification at the Manawatū campus in Palmerston North.
Explore by area of interest
Study art & photography
Massey graduates are prepared for a career in fine arts or photography. Get access to expert educators and state-of-the-art facilities. Learn more now.
Research
Our researchers push the boundaries of contemporary art while tackling crucial cultural, environmental and political issues.
Projects range from indigenous-led international partnerships to to local collaborations that explore identity, whakapapa and the environment.
View selected projects below.
Exploring the space between us
Massey artists and educators are creating new global relationships through 'The Space Between Us'. This Indigenous-led initiative explores how digital and new media can express shared experiences of colonisation and engage marginalised communities in art.
The project includes more than 30 partners from:
- Canada
- the United States
- Hawai'i
- Alaska
- Greenland
- New Zealand
- Finland
- Australia
- Norway.
Land, sea and people
Recent work by Senior Lecturer Hemi Macgregor explores our connections with the rhythms of nature. Rendered in glowing blues and greens, his abstract paintings are inspired by the patterns of raranga (weaving) and nature's cyclical seasons, while exuding the energy of street art.
Macgregor is a highly respected artist and teacher. In 2020–21, his work was included in Toi Tū Toi Ora, the largest ever exhibition staged by Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki. Indigenous relationships and collaboration are central to his practice.
See images of Macgregor's exhibition Toitū Te Whenua, Toitū Te Moana, Toitū Te Tangata
Sculpture and society
A survey of 35 years of work by Senior Lecturer Richard Reddaway have highlighted this prolific sculptor's talent for collaboration.
The exhibition at Aratoi Museum of Art and History in Masterton in 2019–20 was called 'It does no harm to wonder / The Body of the Work'. Along with Reddaway's sculpture from the mid-1980s and photomontages from the 1990s it included objects made by local school students and craftspeople.
Reddaway has been making distinctive and diverse sculptural work for decades, including exhibitions in Australia, Peru, Spain, The Netherlands and USA. He produced the first significant showing of New Zealand art in Mexico.
Who we are
Our senior staff are artists and expert mentors across a range of media. We encourage our students to express themselves confidently in a precarious world.
Professor Kingsley Baird
Kingsley Baird is a visual artist, writer, and professor of fine arts at the Toi Rauwhārangi College of Creative Arts. His research is an investigation of memory, memorialisation, and remembrance, primarily in relation to war, culture, national identity, mythology, place, and new conceptual, aesthetic, and material ways of creating memory forms. www.kingsleybaird.com
Associate Professor Simon Morris
Accreditation and rankings
QS Ranking - Art & Design
College of Creative Arts – Toi Rauwhārangi ranks in the global top 150 for art and design by QS World University Rankings.
Red Dot Design ranking
Ranked 3rd in Asia-Pacific by International Red Dot Design Awards, the only design school to be ranked in New Zealand and Australia. This significant achievement recognises the high calibre of our teaching staff and the exceptional quality of our students' design concept work.
Contact the School of Art – Whiti o Rehua
You can tour our campus in Wellington or Toioho ki Āpiti – Māori Visual Arts in Manawatū.
School of Art – Wellington campus
- creative@massey.ac.nz
- Phone
- Location
Physical address
Block 1
Te Whare Pukākā
Mount Cook
Wellington 6021Use our Wellington campus maps or find us on Google Maps.
Toioho ki Āpiti Māori Visual Arts – Manawatū campus
- Location
Physical address
Toioho ki Āpiti
Te Pūtahi-a-Toi – School of Māori Knowledge
Bourke Road
Turitea Campus
Massey University
Palmerston NorthUse our Manawatū campus maps or find us on Google Maps.
Looking for a staff member? Visit our staff directory or use Expertise search.