Judge's comments:

He pukapuka rangatira tēnei, mō tātou ā mō kā uri ā muri ake nei. A stunning repository of Matauranga Toi Māori. Not only does this book act as a well-crafted piece of publication design within our community, it is a treasure chest of knowledge, dialogue that celebrates the rich whakapapa of cultural art from this country.

Description:

Based on the ground-breaking 2020-21 exhibition staged by Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, and edited by the show's curator Nigel Borell, Toi Tū Toi Ora tells the story of contemporary Māori art from the 1950s to the present day, with more than 200 works by 110 Māori artists. From carving to painting, video art to jewellery, body adornment to weaving, this is a powerful expression of the vast creativity and diversity within Māori art, linked across time and place through the Māori creation story and revealing profound connections to whakapapa, to whenua and to the spiritual world.

Every work is illustrated in full colour and described in illuminating captions that are bilingual in English and te reo Māori. A beautiful foreword by Moana Jackson and the author's informative introduction share the history of contemporary Māori art within a kaupapa Māori worldview. These are supplemented by a comprehensive chronology of contemporary Māori art by the exhibition's assistant curator Taarati Taiaroa, and detailed biographies for every artist, written by expert curators and art historians.

The book’s design is a continuation of the exhibition’s identity. Strong typographic patterning creates an instantly recognisable cover and the typesetting within expands on the exhibition type styles.

The pricing strategy was to make the book as accessible as possible by aiming for a conventionally low price point of $60. A key challenge was achieving a high level of design finish within these tight cost parameters. Additionally, every school in the country received a free copy of the book offering a major resource on toi Māori to our country’s future generations.