Ngataiharuru Taepa (b.1976, Te Arawa, Te Āti Awa) lives and works in Palmerston North where he is Kaihautu Toi Maori – Director of Maori Arts at Massey University College of Creative Arts.

His own studies were also undertaken at Massey under lecturers Robert Jahnke, Kura Te Waru Rewiri and Shane Cotton, and he completed his Masters in Māori Visual Arts in 2003.

Taepa’s practice is focussed particularly upon kōwhaiwhai. He uses contemporary western techniques and materials – including computer-generated imagery, digital routers, acrylic laminates, and digitally carved treated plywood – to interpret the intricate, interlacing patterns characteristic of customary kōwhaiwhai and present it to a new audience.

His work is represented in significant collections including Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand, Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki and Tamaki Paenga Hira Auckland War Memorial Museum.