‍As part of our partnership with The King’s Trust Aotearoa New Zealand, we’re proud to spotlight Josh Kiwikiwi, our selected artist for Art in the Park 2025.

An emerging artist from Whangārei, Josh will showcase his work at Eden Park this September as part of our uniquely curated show. But before you see his art in the stadium, we asked him 10 quickfire questions to get to know the person behind the work — from how his journey began to why he believes art matters in Aotearoa right now.

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‍You’re a self-taught artist. How did your journey with art begin, and what keeps you coming back to the canvas?‍

‍I guess I’ve always been creating artwork since I was a kid, especially in my high school days, and knew I’d probably be an artist — I just didn’t know what kind of artist I’d end up being. I swore I’d never become a portrait artist; I hated the idea of it as a teenager, but a few years passed, I studied SPFX makeup, hair, sculpture and set design thinking I’d work in the film industry. After my studies - I went back to what I knew which was portraiture and started drawing & painting again. Almost a decade later I’m still drawing and painting.  

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‍How would you describe your style, and has it changed over time?‍

‍That’s a hard question! My style is something I’ve always struggled with. Not because I don't have one - mainly because I’ve struggled with my artistic identity. But you could say in short - it’s a culmination of everything I’ve learnt in the last ten years.‍I have a love-hate relationship with drawing; I find it can be quite rigid — mainly because I enjoy drawing for myself and not for others. Whereas painting is full of wander and endless techniques and learnings.

For a while I predominantly focussed on portraiture through graphite illustration, which got me hooked on the fundamentals of drawing, whilst creating the odd painting here and there. Funnily enough my paintings were the exact opposite to my illustrations - they were big, bold and full of colour and texture, always wishing to somehow merge the two together.

Taking it back to my identity - a question I have posed  to myself for a few years is; “am I an artist who is Māori or am I a Māori artist?” Marry this with my eagerness to learn new techniques, evolve and progress my mahi - makes for many questions to be answered.

So, last year I took the leap into full time artistry as well as learning te reo Māori - this decision heavily changed my style and approach. I became more disciplined with my time and more connected to te ao Māori.  I was able to answer that question I posed to myself - saying: Yes I am a contemporary Māori portrait artist! Knowing this helped me to merge both my illustrating with my painting — which felt freeing to come full circle.‍So long story short, I’d describe my style as contemporary portraiture with a Māori twist!

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‍‍What role does storytelling play in your work, if any?

‍‍I guess all artists are storytellers. We have a duty to convey stories through our artwork — It’s never just a static image. For me I guess I like to capture unspoken emotions. You know - when you see someone’s eyes that could tell a thousand stories - that’s what I love to capture! They’re pain, they’re struggles — happiest memories.  There’s something about a feeling being seen rather than heard that I challenge myself to capture and I hope others can feel those emotions too. For example: When you go onto a marae and you see an old kuia, you can sense the mana they have - the stories they can tell just by looking at their eyes - they speak to you without speaking a word.‍Predominantly, my work consists of wāhine Māori, who are my subject of choice due to the fact of my utmost respect for them. I am blessed to be surrounded by beautiful strong wāhie in my life for example:  my mum, sisters, my partner,  and friends who I deeply respect, and they influence my work — They’re whom I am closely connected with.

In te ao Māori - wāhine are connected to the whenua, they are our life givers and knowledge holders and There’s a lot of power in this knowledge. So I try to depict them as pillars as Maunga through my mahi.

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‍How does being based in Aotearoa shape what you create?‍

‍My work is very much derived from a mixture of Māori stories, but also in the sense that we are a country with a difficult past and, equally, a difficult future. I love my culture, it's very important to me and I try to honour it through my mahi sometimes through a contemporary lens or often a very obvious one.  Last year for example I created pieces based around the way I felt towards historical social issues - something I’ve never done before. But I felt guided for the first time in my work which was a beautiful revelation to me.‍But in a time of varying views I hope to convey rich cultural feeling and dialogue - with the hopes of my work being appreciated by all people, to share in kotahitanga — unity — and that’s a big influence as well.

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‍What are you most looking forward to about exhibiting your work on a stage like this?‍

‍It’s unique — it’s at Eden Park. When I tell my mates where I’m exhibiting next, they’re like: ""No way! How? What? Why?"" So, it’s exciting!  It’ll be my first official big show with some artists I’ve admired for years. To be able to have a place among them still blows my mind, and I won’t believe it’s happening until the day I’m here all set up for the exhibition.‍

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‍As this year’s selected King’s Trust artist, what does this opportunity mean to you — and how has it shaped your approach to this exhibition?‍

‍For starters, I’m very grateful to Cary and Sofija as well as The King’s Trust for this selection. The King’s Trust had been on my radar for some time as well as Art in The Park — but timing is everything, and I believe now is the perfect time. It’s given me an opportunity to actually create art for myself. I’ve been a full-time artist since last March, and going to an enterprise workshop through The King’s Trust NZ was a huge motivator. Being selected as the artist felt like, “Hey, this is the opportunity you’ve always wanted” — and now I actually have to take it and create work for it, which I’ve never been given before. So the next four months will be me in the studio, painting just for that — and I’m feeling very grateful and equally nervous about the whole thing!‍

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‍Can you share some insight into the type of work you’re focusing on for this exhibition, now that you're creating pieces specifically for it?‍

‍Cary and Sofija may feel the same way, but this painting here (pictured above) was maybe the reason I was selected, so there’s going to be a few in this same style, alongside others that I’ve taken further focussing on more colour and pattern work! In total I’m aiming to create eight to eleven contemporary Māori works, but I’ve got enough ideas and canvases to create 20 pieces, it’s all about time management now - so fingers crossed!

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‍How long would it take to create a piece of work like this?

‍‍I would say, full-time, at this size (pictured above) three months. When I say full-time, that’s maybe half a day's work each day solely on a painting this size. For Art in the Park I am creating a sister piece to this artwork which will be roughly the same measurements. But hey! I’ve never painted full time for an exhibition before and I’ve got eight canvases currently on the go, so it might be a bit faster, who knows? I’ll soon find out over the next month or so.

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‍What do you hope people take away when they stand in front of your work?‍

‍I want people to see how much work and time goes into creating artwork. I feel for both new artists and those who have been around for decades — some may not grasp the amount of time, effort, material costs, brainpower, and the blood, sweat, and tears that go into it. So, I want people to appreciate the time and dedication that goes into my work when they see it.

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‍In your own words, why do you think art matters in Aotearoa right now?‍

‍Art matters in Aotearoa right now because it’s the heart and soul of the community. And I’m not just talking about physical artworks but also theatre and music - It’s all about bringing people together, Kotahitanga - unity. Without art, the creative sector, and supporters of creativity, there isn’t much love, joy, collaboration, energy or imagination within our communities that make up Aotearoa! It’s needed to inspire the next generation of dreamers - their hopes and aspirations - just as it did for me.

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The King’s Trust Aotearoa New Zealand (formerly The Prince’s Trust) is Art in the Park’s charity partner for 2025, supporting young people to achieve their dreams – including future artists. Through the Art & Enterprise Programme, a free workshop offering skills, mentoring, and exhibition opportunities, one young artist is selected each year to showcase their work. This year’s recipient is Josh, whose striking mixed-media portraits will feature in the main exhibition and the MAS Emerging Artists Gallery (where some of his fellow alumni are also exhibiting!).

Josh is just one of over 150 incredible artists featured at Art in the Park 2025. Don’t miss your chance to experience it all at New Zealand’s ultimate art event.