Witi Ihimaera Smiler recognised with the Arts Foundation’s highest honour

In Aotearoa New Zealand, author Witi Ihimaera Smiler is among the 2026 Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi Icon Whakamana Hiranga Awards recipients.

The Icon Whakamana Hiranga Awards are the Arts Foundation’s highest honour, “recognising the remarkable impact each artist has had on their practice, community and the cultural landscape”.

The selection panel said: “Witi Ihimaera Smiler broke new ground as Aotearoa New Zealand’s first Māori novelist, and his storytelling, most famously in The Whale Rider, has carried Māori culture and identity to readers across the world. Across 5 decades, his distinguished body of work has reshaped our literary landscape and inspired generations of Māori writers to find and tell their stories.”

Each Icon Whakamana Hiranga receives a bronze medallion set with pounamu and a pin designed by sculptor John Edgar. The pin is given to the recipient to keep, while the medallion passes on to a future Icon at the time of their death.

Category: Awards Local news