About me.
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Te Ātiwa, Ngāti Rarua, Ngāruahine, Ngāti Mutunga, Ngāti Toa, MuaUupoko, Rangitane, English, Scottish and Irish
Ngahina Belton-Bodsworth is a painter, maker and curator, who grew up between Kapiti Coast, New Zealand and Melbourne, Australia. She holds a Bachelor of Visual Arts and is currently working towards her Master's at AUT.
Her oil paintings are primarily figurative, facilitating conversations between colour, tension, abstraction and realistic representation. The foundation of her practice grows from questions of reconnecting with indigenous whakapapa, affiliation with bodies of water, and creating safe spaces to explore the vulnerabilities of being human.
Exhibitions and Experience.
- 'Relay', group exhibition, Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery, Auckland, NZ. 2024.
- 'Estuary Art and Ecology Awards', finalists group exhibition, Malcolm Smith Gallery, Auckland, NZ. 2024.
- 'Soft Spaces', solo exhibition, Studio One Toi Tū, Auckland, NZ. 2024
- 'Ka Mua, Ka Muri', group exhibition, The Arts Centre, Christchurch, NZ. 2023
- 'Opening Exhibition', group exhibition, Rei Gallery, Lyttelton, NZ. 2023
- 'Molly Morpeth Canaday Award', finalists group exhibition, Whakatāne, NZ. 2023
- 'Craigs Aspiring Award', finalist group exhibition, Wanaka, NZ.2023
- 'Ka Mua, Ka Muri', group exhibition, Otago Museum, Dunedin, NZ. 2022
- 'Seeing Abstraction', group exhibition, Gallery Azure, Madrid, Spain. 2022
- ‘SITE’ group exhibition, Dunedin School of Art, Dunedin, NZ. 2021
- ‘Kiingi Tuheitia Portraiture Award’, finalist group exhibition, touring-
1. New Zealand Portrait Gallery, Wellington, NZ. May 2021 - Aug 2021.
2. Waikato Museum, Hamilton, NZ. December 2021 - May 2022.
3. Otago Museum, Dunedin, NZ. June 2022 - Jan 2023.
- ‘Mansions of the Mind’, group exhibition, Robert Piggott Art Gallery, Dunedin, NZ. 2020
- ‘Relative’, group exhibition, Dunedin School of Art, Dunedin, NZ. 2020
- ‘Brighton Art Exhibition’, group exhibition, Melbourne, Australia. 2010
- ‘Calm Before the Storm’, group exhibition, Without Pier Gallery, Melbourne, Australia. 2010
- Portrait Painting and Drawing by commissions, Australia. 2008-2016
Awards and Certification.
- AUT Te Aronui Postgraduate Research Scholarship, NZ. 2024 - 2025.
- Finalist, 2024 Tāmaki Estuary and Ecology Award, Auckland, NZ. 2024.
- Finalist, 2023 Molly Morpeth Canady Award, Whakatane, NZ. 2023
- Finalist, 2023 Craigs Aspiring Art Prize, Wanaka, NZ. 2023
- Toi Māori Internship 2022, Te Matatiki Toi Ora The Arts Centre, Christchurch, NZ. 2022
- Finalist for the inaugural Kiingi Tuheitia Portraiture Award, New Zealand Portrait Gallery, Wellington, NZ. 2021
- Bachelor of Visual Arts with Distinction - Painting, Dunedin School of Art, New Zealand. 2021
- Studied Creative Arts at Southern Cross University, NSW, Australia. 2015
- Victoria Certificate III in Visual Arts and Contemporary Craft (NZ cert 4 eq.) VET, Melbourne, Australia. 2010
- Received Acquisitive Art Prize in The Excellence of Drawing Award, Sandringham College, Melbourne, Australia. 2010
- Received Academic Excellence in Art Award, Sandringham College, Melbourne, Australia. 2010
- Received Encouragement Award for Excellence in Visual Arts, Without Pier Gallery, Melbourne, Australia. 2010.
Other Projects.
- Curator - Ka Mua, Ka Muri, group exhibition, The Arts Centre, Christchurch, NZ. 2023
- Creatives in Schools - Creative lead, Bayfield High School, Dunedin, NZ. 2023
- Toi Māori Intern, The Arts Centre, Christchurch, NZ. 2022