Veranoa Hetet

Family

Veranoa Hetet’s mother was master weaver, Erenora Puketapu-Hetet and her father is master carver Rangi Hetet. She attributes her knowledge of Māori arts to her upbringing and family. Her great-grandmother was Dame Rangimarie Hetet and her great aunt was Diggeress Te Kanawa.

Teaching

Since 1996 Hetet has taught weaving at tertiary institutions such as Te Wananga o Raukawa, Wellington Polytechnic, Te Whanau Paneke, and The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand. Veranoa is based in Waiwhetū, Lower Hutt where she continues to teach from The Hetet Studios.

In 2012 Hetet and her group of weavers Te Roopu Mīro were weavers in residence for the exhibition Kahu Ora at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. In a previous discussion with Awhina Tamarapa, the curator of Kuhu Ora, Hetet describes her passion for learning, 'Every time you learn a technique, it opens up the possibilities even more. So the more you’re exposed to, the more possibilities there are for creating things'.

Recognition

Hetet has received funding from Creative New Zealand for the development of new works and travel. In 2014 she received a substantial arts grant to produce works for an exhibition at The Dowse Art Museum. She has exhibited and travelled widely, including a 2014 one-month residency on St Helena, researching and teaching about extracting muka from the flax which has grown on the island since the mid-1900s.

Her work has been exhibited at The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, The Dowse Art Museum, City Gallery Wellington, Waikato Museum and Puke Ariki.