Toi Māori Aotearoa was established in 1996 as a Charitable Trust. The Trust emerged from the need for a collective Māori artists’ forum to foster the development of Māori art and support the national Māori art form committees.

The settlors of the Toi Māori Aotearoa Charitable Trust were Hirini Moko Mead, Emily Rangitiaria Schuster, Trevor Horowaewae Maxwell, Patricia Grace, Kataraina Piri, Sandy Adsett, Henry Bennet and Hohepa Mason. The objectives of the Trust were to:
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• Promote, develop and preserve Māori art in accordance with tikanga Māori;
• Promote, develop and implement Māori art projects;
• Promote and develop cultural exchange opportunities between Māori and other indigenous cultures;
• Promote and develop the practice and appreciation of all Māori art forms
• Promote and develop the wider support and recognition of all Māori art forms;
• Promote and assist in the development of policy advice on all Māori art forms;
• Promote and develop the wairua or spiritual health and cultural welfare of Māori.

The original Toi Māori Aotearoa Kaitiaki (Trustees), Hirini Moko Mead, Emily Rangitiaria Schuster, Waana Morrell Davis, Trevor Horowaewae Maxwell, Tīmoti Kāretu, Georgina Kirby and Derek Fox, developed a strategic plan for the organisation with the following objectives:
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• To ensure that Māori art in all its forms continues to flourish as one of the great art traditions of the world
• To maintain, develop and promote Māori art as an essential element of Māori culture and the culture of Aotearoa
• Assist in maintaining the integrity of Māori art and culture so that its distinctive features and wairua are not sacrificed

​Toi Māori Aotearoa was publicly launched at the opening of the exhibition, Patua: Māori Arts in Action, curated by Sandy Adsett at City Gallery Wellington as part of Te Toka-a-Toi, the 1996 International Festival of the Arts.

​Since 1996 Toi Māori Aotearoa has focussed on the development of Māori artists, Māori artist collectives and art forms, and initiated many significant events to promote Māori art in New Zealand and internationally. 

Toi Māori continues to advocate for increased support for Māori art from the government to achieve the aspirations of iwi Māori as guaranteed by Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Trustees

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