Victor Giborees
After having a stroke, Victor attended Māpura’s re-stART and Art Transitions classes for a year, then started in the Leading a Creative Life studio class in 2020. Straight away, Victor began work on a large canvas, The Ancient Mariner, inspired by Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s epic poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. While he was in hospital recovering from his stroke, excerpts from the poem kept echoing in his head. […]
Matthew Tucker
Matthew started at Māpura Studios in 2005, when it was known as Panacea Arts. It became Spark Studio in 2007 and Māpura Studios in 2015 – as he said, he went through all the name changes. At school, Matthew learnt that art, music and astronomy all use mathematics in some way and he incorporates his interest in these subjects in his abstract artworks. Matthew has exhibited with the studio over […]
Hana Ellis-Kaa
Hana attends the Tuesday morning Becoming an Artist class. She creates vibrant abstract colour fields, often with thick pastel and acrylics. Hana’s titles are as delightful as the artworks, for example: You Shouldn’t Kill Spiders for Sport or Experimenting, Why Won’t Anybody Tell Me Anything. Her grandfather was the renowned New Zealand artist Robert Ellis. She enjoyed art lessons with him since the age of two and says her artist […]
Craig Murray
Craig Murray has been attending Māpura Studios since 2011 and really enjoys his time in the studio. He likes creating artworks that involve power pylons, bolts and wires, and electricity. Craig will ask you where you live in Auckland and he’ll be able to tell you about the pylons in your area. He is inspired by trees, and has been creative for a long time.
Ululau Ama
Ululau was born in 1994 in Sāmoa. He had meningitis at 3 months old and was later diagnosed with epilepsy. Ululau has attended Art Therapy classes and is currently an artist at Māpura Studios. Ululau’s work includes drawing, printmaking, poetry, music, painting and sculpture. He is a visual storyteller, with his Pacific identity weaving through all his art, and many of his works are based on Samoan mythology. In 2022 […]
Matthew Allerby
Matthew has been attending Māpura Studios for many years. He loves painting different pictures and shapes. Matthew loves the studio and is inspired by many things. Matthew is neuro diverse and struggles with expressive language. Matthew has, from a very young age always enjoyed art and art making. Watching the evolution of his artworks over the years, a use of strong colours and instinctive placement within the composition can […]
Avtar Singh
Avtar’s inspiration of art comes from being able to draw what she sees, and her perception creates her unique drawings. She has been a student at Māpura since 2022. She likes drawing, painting, walking and reading books.
Hugh Bawden-Hindle
Hugh Bawden-Hindle is a 26-year-old artist living in North Auckland. His work is abstract and explores movement and colour. Hugh enjoys the contrasts of life – movement and stillness, high energy and calm, urban and rural. His work reflects the richness of daily life.
Madeleine Wilson
Madeleine started coming to Māpura since 2005 however she took a seven year hiatus to pursue her love of horse riding. “I was horse riding for a long time,” she says. “I did a term of drama class and found that wasn’t my cup of tea so I came back here.” Madeleine is an accomplished artist and often works on a thematic series until complete, and then she’ll start another. […]
Trevor Bull
Trevor attends the Wednesday morning Studio Practice class in the Morningside studio, and stays on for Māpura Music in the afternoon, where he sings and plays guitar and ukulele. He draws all the time, even when he’s not in the studio, filling up sketchbooks with pencil and pen drawings of favourite cartoon characters, activities and vehicles. Like his paintings, his drawings are autobiographical. His acrylic paintings are often of cars […]
Ela Tukuhaukava
Ela started coming to Māpura on the recommendation of a friend. Ela has always drawn and painted, starting in kindergarten and carrying on through primary school, high school and Manukau Institute of Technology. Ela remembers getting told off for drawing on the wallpaper at home when she was a child. She attends classes on Mondays and Wednesdays. Ela enjoys the social contact and makes friends easily.
Lynette Loye
Lynette has been coming to Māpura for over 12 years. Her paintings and artworks reflect her memories of childhood. Painting relaxes her. Lynette has recently returned to painting chandeliers, a favourite subject matter. She also enjoys collage, assemblage and video making. Lynette’s favourite colour is blue.
Allyson Hamblett
Allyson has attended Māpura as an artist since 2002 and she joined the team in 2006 doing project work on the website. She says she never knew she could draw, let alone paint. “I thought I’d come along and see what it was like. My style has changed over the years, and I like to paint portraits and urban-scapes. I love trying to create perspective and depth. It still amazes […]