Darcy Nicholas

Darcy Nicholas has been a part of the Contemporary Maori Art movement since the late 1960’s. During this time he has exhibited throughout New Zealand, Australia, the United States, Canada, Africa, India, Japan, and Europe, as well as directing major touring shows representing Maori Art to many of those countries.

He won the Absolutely Creative Wellington Award in 2005 for his many creative event initiatives at the time, including the cultural connections he helped to establish between New Zealand and the United States, for which he was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation from then US Ambassador Bill McCormick.

Nicholas established the award winning Pataka Museum in Porirua City in the late 1990’s, and he was awarded a Queen’s Service Order (QSO) for his contributions to Museums in 2010. In 2012 he was awarded the Te Waka Toi Supreme award named after the late and treasured Maori Queen, Te Atairangikaahu, for his lifetime contributions to Maori Art. Most recently in 2023 he was awarded the Ngā Tohu Toi Icon Award in Tauranga, for his services to Maori Art.