Sarah Hudson (artist)

Sarah Hudson
Sarah Hudson with Mataaho at Venice Biennale Youth Forum
Born
Sarah Peti Sian Hudson

1986 or 1987 (age 38–39)
EducationMaster in Fine Arts with Distinction
Alma materMassey University, Wellington
OccupationsArtist, researcher
Awards2022 Arts Foundation Laureate
Websitehttps://www.sarahhudson.co.nz/

Sarah Peti Sian Hudson[1] (born 1986 or 1987)[1] is an Aotearoa New Zealand artist, researcher, and māmā[2] of Ngāti Awa, Ngāi Tūhoe,[3] and Ngāti Pūkeko[2] descent based in Whakatāne.[3]

Career

Hudson began her artistic practice by completing a Master in Fine Arts with Distinction through Massey University Wellington in 2010.[3] On the whole she has exhibited both individually and in the mana wahine[4] Mataaho Collective for national and global audiences.[3] The collective have worked together since 2012[5] with 'single authorship'[6] and recently were awarded the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale in 2024.[7]

In her physical practice she is classified as a lens focused artist,[8] however this doesn't cover the breadth of her works. Hudson's photography, performance, installation,[3] Raranga (weaving),[5] video, and sculpture[4] works all convey variations of the artist's thematics: mātauranga Māori, mana wahine, media, gender and sport,[3] tino rangatiratanga, whakapapa, matemateāone,[2] play, whenua (land), and the idea of different connections with others.[4]

Another core aspect of her creative works is often their location, interaction with their respective environment, and incorporation of natural, earth sourced materials.[2] This interest led to Hudson becoming a co-founder of Kauae Raro Research Collective[5] in 2019[6]. Together the members delve into and investigate Māori paint and dye methods using earth pigments[4], often connecting their intentions back to the roots of Indigenous knowledge and using earth pigments 'as an art material, in ceremony and as rongoā (medicine).'[6]

In addition to creating and exhibiting her own work, in 2020 she was the exhibitions curator for Te Kōputu te whanga a Toi, Whakatāne Museum and Arts.[9]

Exhibitions

Group shows
Date Title People Medium Location Source
2011 Maiden Aotearoa Sarah Hudson, Aimee Ratana, Vicky Thomas, Suzanne Tamaki Photography Deane Gallery, City Gallery Wellington [10]
2017 All Lines Converge Darcell Apelu, Edith Amituanai, Wendy Bornholdt, Jordana Bragg, Mary-Louise Browne, Ruth Buchanan, L. Budd, Sarah Buist, Fiona Clark, Yvonne Coleman, Fiona Connor, Dale Copeland, Jane Dove, Charlotte Drayton, Luise Fong, Marti Friedlander, Catherine Griffiths, Gil Hanly, Christine Hellyar, Li-Ming Hu, Maree Horner, Sarah Hudson, Sonya Lacey, Tessa Laird, Vivian Lynn, Alison Maclean, Merata Mita, Joanna Margaret Paul, Biljana Popovic, Nova Paul, Shona Rapira Davies, Lisa Reihana, Pauline Rhodes, Dorothy Richmond, Marie Shannon, Susan Te Kahurangi King, and Lauren Winstone Multimedia print installation Govett-Brewster Gallery [11]
2019 And only sea Mata Aho Collective A public commission Wellington [3]
2021 Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art Mata Aho Collective – – – Auckland Art Gallery [3]
2021 Help Yourself Turumeke Harrington, Grace Ryder, Sarah Hudson, Saskia Leek, Kristin Leek, and Greta Menzies Multimedia installation

Hudson, Reunion, 2021, Ngāti Pūkeko stained cotton and Ngāti Maru ki Hauraki whenua

Enjoy Gallery [12]
2022 Manatū Ahu Matua in Pollen in the Trough Sarah Hudson, Madison Kelly, and Rebecca Hawkes Multimedia Installation

Hudson, Manatū Ahu Matua (2014), digital photograph

Wormhole Gallery, Edgecumbe [13]
2023 Piece for The Polyphonic Sea Antonia Barnett-McIntosh, Andrew Beck, Ruth Buchanan, The Estate of L. Budd, Sione Faletau, Samuel Holloway, Sarah Hudson, Sonya Lacey, Nova Paul, Sriwhana Spong, and Shannon Te Ao Multimedia installation Bundanon, NSW, Australia [14]

Other group exhibitions with Hudson's contributions can be found with the Mataaho Collective.

  • The Mataaho Collective - Erana Baker, Sarah Hudson, Bridget Reweti and Terri Te Tau at the Venice Biennale Youth Forum
  • Takapau, an artwork by Mataaho Collective shown at Te Papa, January 2023
  • Kaokao #1, an artwork by Mataaho Collective shown at Te Papa,January 2023
  • Tauira, an artwork by Mataaho Collective shown at Te Papa, January 2023
Solo shows
Date Title Medium Location Source
2014 Manatū Ahu Matua 12min 33sec Single channel, digital video, colour, sound Circuit, Artist Moving Image [15]
2015 Ariā – Ōhiwa 10sec Single channel, digital video, colour, silent Circuit, Artist Moving Image [16]
2016 Putanga 3min 34sec Single channel, digital video, colour, sound Circuit, Artist Moving Image [17]
2016 Rachael and Indigo in Harakeke Photograph – – – [18]
2016 Karakia (Ritual Chants) 2min 9sec Single channel, digital video, colour, sound Circuit, Artist Moving Image [19]
2018 X-marks – – – Waitangi Treaty Grounds and Museum, Waitangi [3]
2018 Harirū 1min 50sec Single channel, digital video, colour, sound Circuit, Artist Moving Image [20]
2018 Palm Arms 2min 38sec Single channel, digital video, colour, sound Circuit, Artist Moving Image [21]
2020 Mana Whenua Installation – – – [22]
2021 Reunion Installation with earth pigment incorporated Enjoy Gallery [22]
2021 Tūhoe whenua, Tūhoe whakapapa Painting – – – [22]
2021 Waikaremoana Rainbow Pigment painting – – – [22]
2021 Clay is a Māori material Unfired, polished whenua mediums – – – [22]
2022 re:place Installation with earth pigment incorporated Blue Oyster Gallery [23]
2023 Reconnect 10min HD video, colour, sound

(Music by Kahu Kutia and Sylvan Spring) (Cinematography by Rachel Anson)

Auckland Pride 2023 & Christchurch Art Gallery [24][25]
2024 he tuahu ki a Ukurangi Installation included in Heipūkarea, a celebration of atua wāhine Aronui Indigenous Arts Festival 2024 [26]

Workshops and events

  • October 2016: Artist Talk on Blakdot Gallery's exhibition Ōpōtiki, New Zealand's First Drone-Friendly Town[27]
  • January 2020:[28] Headwear with Sarah Hudson, aligning with Māori Moving Image: An Open Archive at Christchurch Art Gallery (August 2019 – January 2020). Participants worked with the artist to make headwear protecting you from identifying technologies like cameras and facial recognition to bring ideas of public versus private versions to the forefront of the audience's minds.[29]
  • March 2020: The Art of Looking, a workshop to teach children how to see and interpret contemporary art, at Te Kōputu te whanga a Toi, Library and Exhibition Centre, Whakatāne.[9]
  • 2021: Spoke at Pigments Revealed, an international earth pigment symposium.[23]
  • July 2021: In Conversation: Kōkōwai in contemporary art practice, artist talk by Hudson and Nikau Hindin about how they use kōkōwai as a contemporary artistic medium, at Govett-Brewster Art Gallery.[30]

Publications

A 55 page piece on interactions between art and mātauranga by 11 Māori artists during the rise of Matariki in 2020.[31]

Projects

  • Hudson took part in the conclusive exhibition of the Wild Pigment Project, curated by the project's founding director Tilke Elkins.[34] It was shown from 17 September to 3 December 2022, displaying over 20 global artists' earth pigment works.[34] The project was started by Elkins in 2019 with the purpose of exploring intersections of artists using natural materials in their work and artists' own stories, ultimately investigating the relationship between land and artist around the world.[34] As part of their participation in the project, artists donate to a pigment subscription service that operates monthly called 'Ground Bright.'[34] This service financially benefits the running of the project, and portions of the funds are also gifted to land and cultural heritage organisations.[34]
    • Their exhibition was held at Form & Concept Gallery, and 22% of its profits ended up being donated to the Institute of American Indian Arts.[34] All the exhibiting artists involved were: Melonie Ancheta, Stella Maria Baer, Karma Barnes, Julie Beeler, Brittany Boles, Amanda Brazier, Lorraine Brigdale, Catalina Christensen, Iris Sullivan Daire, Nina Elder, Caitlin French, Heidi Gustafson, Sarah Hudson, Ashlee Weitlauf, Lucille Junkere, Melissa Ladkin, Thomas Little, Daniela Naomi Molnar, Marjorie Morgan, Sydney Matrisciano, Nancy Pobanz, Teri Power, Adi Blaustein Retjo, Caroline Ross, Joshua Rudder, Natalie Stopka, Scott Sutton, and Hosanna White[34]
  • She contributed work to He Tohu to Trust Horizon's Light up Whakatāne Festival[35]
  • Hudson curated an exhibition correlating with her publication Mana Whenua which was on display from February to April 2022 at Wormhole Gallery, Edgecumbe.[36] Works included were by: Ayesha Green, Sarah Hikuroa, Nikau Hindin, Ana Iti, Kahu Kutia, Sian Montgomery-Neutze, Bronte Perry, Nathan Pohio, Bridget Reweti, Raukura Turei, and Cora-Allan Wickliffe[36]
  • She curated M/other, 20 April 2019 – 7 August 2019 at Whakatāne Museum and Arts[37]
  • As exhibitions curator at Te Kōputu a te whanga a Toi—Whakatāne Library and Exhibition Centre, Hudson presented an embroidery piece by Maungarongo Te Kawa (Ngāti Porou) in an exhibition called Corners of the Heart.[38] The works were called Grandparents (2020), How Does It Feel To Swim Towards Danger (2020), The Natives Must Be In Awe (2019), and Thoughts Forming In The Void (2018).[38]

Awards

Residencies

Hudson's time in this artist residency was spent in the Broad Bay area of Dunedin for its abundance of earth pigments and paint binders like tree gum and honey.[42] Through her creative process of collection, grinding and mixing of various dyes and paints she prepared work as a result of her residency, but most significantly was able to whakapapa back to her ancestors through the generational practice of rock art.[42] Her completed works were presented in her final exhibition, which when it opened coincided with Hudson's organisation of the first national symposium for Māori earth artists.[42]

In 2025, Hudson was the first artist invited from Aotearoa[43] to complete an artist residency in Naoshima, Japan[43] and present her work in the Setouchi Triennale, a prominent international art festival in Japan opened April 2025.[2] She spent one month on an island of the Seto Inland Sea in Japan, which is known as a place that provides a cultural and contemporary feel for global artists to gather and collaborate,[2][43] producing work and research inspired by her surroundings in Megijima[44] to exhibit at the Setouchi Triennale.[43] The island is one of many classified as belonging to the Benesse Art Site in Naoshima, with its dedication to the sector described as evident through contemporary art and architecture on display.[43] Jude Chambers, executive director of McCahon House who assisted in evolution of this opportunity, quoted the following regarding Hudson's experience: "Creating a new work and exhibiting in the Setouchi Triennale 2025 will expand and extend her networks and share Aotearoa's unique art and culture with audiences internationally."[43]

The Setouchi Triennale was established in 2010 with the intention of promoting local communities, and environments.[43]Artists were asked to present work in natural environments or abandoned buildings in the area.[44] Hudson named and themed her collection of work Reconciliation and included the following pieces: The Stones Remember and I Listen (watercolour paintings with earth pigments from land she whakapapas to in Moutohorā, and indigo pigment from the Kagawa prefecture), stone works In my teeth, the DNA of cliffs, and The taste of old stories, used pebbles from Megijima, and a video work called Belonging.[44]

The works she produced were also exhibited in Aotearoa.[44] Belonging I and II along with an AI poem were shown at Kia Mau Festival, Wellington from 2 to 15 June 2025. Furthermore Belonging I and II, five watercolour pieces and photographs of Moutohorā in collaboration with Whakatāne Museums and Archives, the poem, and new sculptures based on archaeologies of wāhi tapu on Moutohorā, were all shown at Te Kōputu in Whakatāne from 4 July to 6 September 2025.[44]

Additionally during her time in Japan, Hudson completed a residency at Miki Junior High School, Japan and taught students there about natural dyeing methods.[44]

Lectures

  • She presented an Ockham lecture titled Serious Fun on 22 July at Objectspace where she made examples of three Māori artists, Maungarongo Te Kawa, Ayesha Green, Turumeke Harrington "who employ fun, play and frivolity to explore pūrakau."[6]

References

  1. ^ a b Macdonald, Nikki (13 June 2011). "From roller derby to Wellington City Gallery". Stuff. Retrieved 22 January 2026.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Armah, Mildred (30 March 2025). "The Māori artist repping NZ at Japan's Setouchi Triennale". www.stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Sarah Hudson". www.circuit.org.nz. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  4. ^ a b c d "Sarah Hudson". Setouchi Triennale 2025. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  5. ^ a b c "Sarah Hudson | Artists | Toi Iho". www.toiiho.org.nz. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  6. ^ a b c d "Ockham Lecture Series: Sarah Hudson: Serious Fun — Objectspace". www.objectspace.org.nz. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  7. ^ "'Luminous, dazzling': Wāhine Māori art collective wins major Venice Biennale award". NZ Herald. 21 April 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  8. ^ "Aotearoa Artists H-M – ANZAAE". Retrieved 22 January 2026.
  9. ^ a b "The Art of Looking – Sarah Hudson | Whakatāne Museum". www.whakatanemuseum.org.nz. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  10. ^ "Maiden Aotearoa". thebigidea.nz. 19 May 2011. Retrieved 22 January 2026.
  11. ^ "studio catherine griffiths | 03 other in(ter)ventions". www.catherinegriffiths.co.nz. Retrieved 22 January 2026.
  12. ^ "Help Yourself | Enjoy Contemporary Art Space". enjoy.org.nz. Retrieved 22 January 2026.
  13. ^ "Pollen in the Trough | Wormhole Gallery and Studio | Edgecumbe". Wormhole. Retrieved 22 January 2026.
  14. ^ "The Polyphonic Sea". Bundanon. Retrieved 22 January 2026.
  15. ^ "Sarah Hudson Manatū Ahu Matua (2014)". www.circuit.org.nz. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  16. ^ "Sarah Hudson Ariā – Ōhiwa (2015)". www.circuit.org.nz. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  17. ^ "Sarah Hudson Putanga (2016)". www.circuit.org.nz. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  18. ^ "Māori video artists on display in Christchurch". christchurchartgallery.org.nz. 5 August 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  19. ^ "Sarah Hudson Karakia (Ritual Chants) (2016)". www.circuit.org.nz. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  20. ^ "Sarah Hudson Harirū (2018)". www.circuit.org.nz. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  21. ^ "Sarah Hudson Palm Arms (2018)". www.circuit.org.nz. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  22. ^ a b c d e "Sarah Hudson". He Kapunga Oneone. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  23. ^ a b c d "re:place | Blue Oyster". blueoyster.org.nz. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  24. ^ "Artist Bio: Sarah Hudson". Auckland Pride Festival. 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  25. ^ "Reconnect". christchurchartgallery.org.nz. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  26. ^ "Sarah Hudson". heipūkarea. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  27. ^ "ŌPŌTIKI". Blak Dot Gallery. 27 October 2016. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  28. ^ "Create headwear with acclaimed artist Sarah Hudson". Christchurch City Council Newsline. 10 January 2020. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  29. ^ "Headwear with Sarah Hudson". christchurchartgallery.org.nz. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  30. ^ "In Conversation: Kōkōwai in contemporary art practice – New Plymouth – Eventfinda". www.eventfinda.co.nz. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  31. ^ "Mana Whenua publication". He Kapunga Oneone. Retrieved 22 January 2026.
  32. ^ "As needed, as possible | Enjoy Contemporary Art Space". enjoy.org.nz. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  33. ^ "Sarah Hudson". vessel-magazine.no. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  34. ^ a b c d e f g "Wild Pigment Project". form & concept gallery. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  35. ^ "He Tohu – Sarah Hudson". Light Up Whakatane. Retrieved 22 January 2026.
  36. ^ a b Davey-Emms, Jordan; Hudson, Sarah; Laing, Felixe (22 January 2022). "Mana Whenua at Wormhole. Jordan Davey-Emms in conversation with Sarah Hudson and Felixe Laing". vernacular-online.nz. Retrieved 22 January 2026.
  37. ^ Williams, Matariki. "All of Our Beginnings: Motherhood in the Exhibition 'M/other'". Pantograph Punch. Retrieved 22 January 2026.
  38. ^ a b "Corners of the Heart | A Gallery from Nine To Noon | RNZ National". RNZ. Retrieved 22 January 2026.
  39. ^ "Meet our 2022 Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi Laureates". Arts Foundation. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  40. ^ Plenty, Creative Bay of (7 February 2023). "Molly Morpeth Canaday Painting & Drawing winners announced". CBOP. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  41. ^ "Caselberg Trust announces Creative Connections resident 2025 – Jess Nicholson". Dunedin City of Literature. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  42. ^ a b c Fox, Rebecca (19 May 2022). "Colours from the whenua". Otago Daily Times Online News. Retrieved 22 January 2026.
  43. ^ a b c d e f g "Aotearoa New Zealand artist Sarah Hudson announced as selected artist for Naoshima Artist in Residence and Setouchi Triennale 2025". Artnow. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  44. ^ a b c d e f "Sarah Hudson's Exhibition at Setouchi Triennale 2025: Reconciliation". Artnow. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
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