Darcy Nicholas – a profile

Darcy Nicholas is a leading Maori painter and sculptor. His art is in public and private collections throughout New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the United States, Britain, Germany, France and Japan. He has been a key member of the Contemporary Maori Art movement since the 1960’s.

"My art is about identity… the ancestral lines that connect me with the multiversal nature of our people. We have to survive both as a tribal and a global people in this new age of technology and rapid change."

Darcy was raised in Taranaki, New Zealand. It was the site where the New Zealand Land Wars began in the mid 19th century. He learned his culture by living it surrounded by his parents and elders, many of whom had been born in the 1800’s. Darcy was born the eleventh child of a family of twelve.

His first one-man exhibition was in 1968 at the Antipodes Gallery in Wellington. Since then, he has exhibited widely throughout the world.

He began a full time career as a painter from 1973 until 1980, when he became Director of the Wellington Arts Centre.

In 1984 he received a Fulbright Cultural Award to observe Contemporary Native American, African American, British, European and Asian cultures and art.

Darcy has travelled widely and enjoys a close interaction with leading artists from many countries. He has exhibited in Africa, Australia, New Zealand, India, France, Britain, Europe, Canada and the United States. He is inspired by all the creative artists of the world.

He has held several senior management positions including Director of the Wellington Arts Centre, Director of the Central (New Zealand) Regional Arts Council, Assistant General Manager of the Iwi Transition Agency and Director of Cultural Services for Porirua City.

Darcy is currently Group Manager of Cultural Development in Porirua City, where he project directed and currently runs the Pataka Museum of Arts and Cultures. It is an innovative organisation, incorporating a museum with contemporary arts, performing arts, an education centre and public library. Pataka promotes Contemporary Maori, Pacific Island, and New Zealand art and heritage.