Mike Tavioni

Mitaera Ngatae Teatuakaro Michael Tavioni BEM (born 1947)[1] is a Cook Islands artist and writer. A master carver, he has been described as a taonga (treasure).[2] His role in the pacific art community is recognised from New Zealand to Hawaii.[3]

Mike Tavioni
Mike Tavioni in 2022
Born1947 (age 75–76)
Rarotonga, Cook Islands
Alma materTereora College
Northland College
Massey University
Auckland University of Technology
Occupations
  • Artist
  • writer

Tavioni was born on Rarotonga. He was educated at Tereora College, then at Northland College, Kaikohe and Massey University in New Zealand, graduating with a degree in Agriculture & Horticulture.[4] After working as a public servant in the Agriculture Department, he became a full-time artist.[4] In 2019 he graduated with a Master of Fine Arts from Auckland University of Technology.[5][6]

He has worked in a wide variety of mediums, including printing, painting, wood, stone, and bone, as well as traditional tattooing.[4] In 1975 he began printing t-shirts using wooden blocks.[7] He experimented with other mediums, but initially found it difficult to obtain tools and materials.[7] In 1996 he oversaw the creation of the Punanga Nui market.[8] In 2002 he published a poetry collection, Speak Your Truth.[9] His work is displayed at the Punanga Nui in Avarua and the University of the South Pacific campus.[10] In 2016 he was commissioned, alongside New Zealand-based artist Michel Tuffery, to create a carved wooden gateway for the RSA memorial cemetery to commemorate the centenary of Cook Islands participation in the First World War.[11]

Tavioni unsuccessfully stood as a candidate for the Unity party in the 1978 Cook Islands general election.[12] He later stood as a candidate for the Te Kura O Te ʻAu People's Movement in Avatiu–Ruatonga–Palmerston in the 2010 election.[13]

Tavioni now runs a gallery and art school in Rarotonga,[14] where he teaches traditional vaka-making.[15] In 2021 he was the subject of a short documentary film, Taonga: An Artists Activist.[16]

In the 2022 Birthday Honours he was awarded the British Empire Medal for services to the arts and to the community.[17][1]

Images
  • Punanga Nui sculpture, 1998
    Punanga Nui sculpture, 1998
  • Cook Islands RSA Memorial Gateway, 2017
    Cook Islands RSA Memorial Gateway, 2017
  • Wood carving for NZ High Commission, 2019
    Wood carving for NZ High Commission, 2019

References
  1. "Four recognised in Queen's Birthday Honours List". Cook Islands News. 7 June 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  2. Anne Gibson (10 February 2017). "Pacific artist Michael Tuffery creating a memorial to Rarotonga's 'Forgotten 43'". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  3. ""Native of 2020″ Art Show in Cook Islands". Island Time. 7 January 2019. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  4. "Cultural Heritage: Mike Tavioni". Cook Islands Tourism Corporation. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  5. "Master artist carves letters after his name". Cook Islands News. 28 September 2019. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  6. Tavioni, Michael (2018). Tāura ki te Atua - The role of 'akairo in Cook Islands Art (Master of Arts in Māori Development thesis). Tuwhera Open Access, Auckland University of Technology.
  7. Angela McCarthy (1 January 1991). "Carving a path for art". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. 61, no. 1. pp. 49–50. Retrieved 5 August 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. "Tavioni's Punanga Nui proposal rejected". Cook Islands News. 20 July 2012. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  9. "Eleven artists show work in themed event". Cook Islands News. 4 January 2019. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  10. "Two 'unveilings' make artist's day extra-special". Cook Islands News. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  11. "First step in creation of carved memorial". Cook Islands News. 14 September 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  12. Michael T. Tavoni (1979). "The Unity Movement". In Davis, Thomas R. A. H.; Crocombe, R. G. (eds.). Cook Islands Politics: The Inside Story. Auckland: Polynesian Press. p. 83. ISBN 0-908597-002.
  13. "Mike Tavioni surprise candidate". Cook Islands News. 16 October 2010. Archived from the original on 26 October 2010. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  14. "Big plans for newly-opened gallery". Cook Islands News. 8 January 2019. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  15. "Vaka headed for California". Cook Islands News. 29 April 2019. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  16. "Taonga: An Artists Activist". Cook Islands News. 20 December 2021. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
  17. "No. 63715". The London Gazette. 2 June 2022. p. B42.
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