Maia McDonald

born 1983, Ngāmotu

Ngāti Mutunga, Te Āti Awa

Based in Naarm Melbourne, Maia Robin McDonald works primarily with uku (clay). She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) from Toi Rauwhārangi College of Creative Arts, Massey University, Te Whanganui-a-Tara, and a Diploma of Māori Art and Design from Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, where she studied under master uku artist Wi Taepa. Her work is held in private and public collections in Aotearoa and Australia. McDonald is a respected writer and curator as well as an artist. She has worked as a curator for the Koorie Heritage Trust and is currently Operations Team Leader at Bundoora Homestead Art Centre with curatorial responsibilities.

'My work moves in the realms of the physical and spiritual, while coming to an understanding of cross-cultural identities and politics. I am thinking about my own personal history and whakapapa, while learning the history and whakapapa of clay, and all the value systems inherent.'
MAIA MCDONALD
Testing Ground (installation view), 2022
Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare o Rehua, Whanganui
Photograph courtesy of the Sarjeant