Kara Boyes
Ko Kara Boyes tōku ingoa, nō Tauranga Moana ahau.
Kara is an emerging Māori artist and rongoā practitioner whose work explores the relationship between toi, healing, and cultural reconnection. Currently studying Māori Visual Arts at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, her practice is grounded in te ao Māori values and informed by her lived experience within hauora and community spaces.
Her work often draws on themes of wairua, whenua, whakapapa, and resilience, exploring the unseen connections between people, place, and Atua. Through painting and mixed media processes, Kara creates works that weave together contemporary Māori art practice with spiritual and intuitive approaches to making.
Inspired by taonga species, kōrero tuku iho, and her whakapapa connection to whenua, her work seeks to hold space for reflection, healing, and reconnection. Alongside her creative practice, Kara is passionate about creating accessible and culturally grounded arts experiences that strengthen connection to mātauranga Māori and community wellbeing.
Artistic Practice
- Painting
- Printmaking
- Uku and clay
- Natural dye and fibre
- Taonga pūoro
- Sculpture
- Installation
- Community art
- Curatorial practice
Exhibitions
2026
- Iwa – Matariki Exhibition, Carlton Art Gallery, Katikati (Upcoming)
- Living Rongoā Exhibition, Community based exhibition (In development)
- Pipitea – Ngāti Poneke Exhibition, Pipitea Marae (Upcoming)
2025
- Hei Tapiri – Group Exhibition, The Incubator, Tauranga
- Waiata Uku – Group Exhibition, The Pot House, Tauranga
- Waiora – Rauangi Exhibition, Te Wānanga o Aotearoa
- Te Kura o Ngā Haututu Toi – Group Exhibition, The Carlton Gallery, Katikati
- Huihuinga Wāhine 2025 – Group Exhibition, The Cargo Shed, Tauranga
- Hei Matapihi ki te Ao – Wānanga Exhibition,
A selection of work from my creative practice.
Waiora
Waiora began as an exploration of my connection to the whenua and to both my Māori and Pākehā whakapapa. During its creation, several members of my whānau were diagnosed with cancer, and the work became a poutiriao, a spiritual guardian. The double manaia represent my grandmother and great-grandmother, and the piece honours the intergenerational impact of illness while acknowledging resilience, whakapapa, and the strength carried through aroha.
