Professor Robert Jahnke on stage. Photo courtesy of The Arts Foundation and photographers David St George and Jinki Cambronero.
Professor Jahnke is a Māori artist, teacher, researcher, writer and advocate for Māori and indigenous arts who teaches both undergraduate and postgraduate level within the Toioho ki Āpiti Bachelor of Māori Visual Arts programme.
He was announced as a Laureate and the 2023 recipient of the Jillian Friedlander Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa Award at an event in Auckland on 1 September. The award acknowledges outstanding Māori and Pacific creatives within the arts. Professor Jahnke was one of nine artists announced as Laureates for 2023.
Professor Jahnke’s art over the years has straddled design, illustration, animation and sculpture. His work is typically based on political issues impacting Māori, the relationship between Māori and European colonisers and the impact of Christianity on Māori culture. Since his first solo exhibition in 1990, Professor Jahnke has maintained his practice as a sculptor with several commissions and exhibitions, and more recently, his practice has included painting and neon installation.
Professor Jahnke was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Māori art and education in 2016. In 2021, he became a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand for contributions to research and was awarded an Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Arts Educators Premier Award for sustained leadership, outstanding service and contributions to research in art education. In 2022, he received the Te Papa Rongomaraeroa Award for his contribution to Te Ao Māori.
Professor Jahnke is responsible for setting up the first Māori Visual Arts degree in 1995, followed by a Postgraduate Diploma of Māori Visual Arts and a Master of Māori Visual Arts in 1999.
Former Head of Whiti o Rehua School of Art Professor Huhana Smith says Professor Jahnke has significant influence.
“Bob is a formidable force for Māori and the world of contemporary Māori art. He’s inspired and mentored two generations of Māori and indigenous artists to become confident, culturally-savvy experts. Tino Pai, super congratulations to Bob.”
Deputy Vice-Chancellor Māori Professor Meihana Durie says Professor Jahnke’s contribution to contemporary Māori visual arts in Aotearoa New Zealand is unparalleled.
“Across the decades, he has achieved two phenomenal and significant outcomes in the advancement of Māori visual art. Firstly, in terms of his own indelible artistic contribution, Professor Jahnke's work is and remains ground-breaking. Secondly, by way of his ongoing mentorship and development of emerging Māori artists via the Toioho ki Āpiti Māori Visual Arts programme here at Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa Massey University, a kaupapa established by Professor Jahnke in the 1990s and one that has contributed many prominent Māori artists in recent decades. This award affirms Professor Jahnke's position alongside some of the most illustrious artists in Aotearoa.”
This year marks the 23rd edition of the Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi Laureate Awards, which were established to empower and celebrate outstanding artists who are having impact on the arts in New Zealand. Since the event began in 2000, more than 120 artists have been recognised.
Laureate recipients are selected by an independent panel of experts from across the arts and creativity sector, with each panel member focusing on the area in which they are knowledgeable.
The panel statement for Professor Jahnke reads, “Robert Jahnke is nationally renowned as a leading artist, educator and scholar. As an artist, he is widely represented in collecting institutions including Te Papa Tongarewa, Auckland Art Gallery and Christchurch Art Gallery. As an educator in Māori Visual Arts at Massey University, Bob has had immense impact as one of the founders of Toioho ki Āpiti, a ground-breaking school of art that has fostered the learning and practice of generations of Māori and indigenous artists. As a founding member of Te Waka Toi, he was part of the Toi Iho trademark mahi to protect ngā toi Māori. Throughout his decades-long career he has continued to evolve his artistic practice and advocate for and inspire generations of artists and scholars. His own work is politically engaged, visually breathtaking and explores traditional Māori narratives in a way that is incredibly contemporary and exciting.”
Read more about the awards here.
Many thanks to The Arts Foundation and photographers David St George and Jinki Cambronero for capturing the evening.
The nine 2023 laureates with Professor Jahnke on the far left. Photo courtesy of The Arts Foundation and photographers David St George and Jinki Cambronero.
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