Waikato honour for leading Māori artist and kapahaka adviser

Derek Lardelli, a Māori artist and composer who is also a cultural adviser to New Zealand’s All Blacks rugby team, has been awarded an honorary doctorate by Waikato University.

Lardelli has also gained an international reputation for his work as a tā moko artist and his knowledge of the spiritual traditions of Māori body art. Although often referred to as a tattoo, tā moko is a very different art that uses chisels, rather than needles, to create patterns on the skin.

“Derek is founding principal tutor at Toihoukura, school of Māori visual arts at the Eastern Institute of Technology’s Tairāwhiti campus where he has developed a suite of programmes across a range of Māori visual arts,” a Waikato University statement says.