Vanessa Wairata Edwards was born in 1980 and is of
Ngāti Tūwharetoa,
Whakatōhea,
Ngāti Kuri, and
Ngāti Kahu descent. She is based in Whanganui. Edwards primarily works in printmaking. Her art works explore
tikanga Māori and
matauranga Māori as key themes. As well as being an artist, she is a full time secondary school art teacher. In 2002, Edwards graduated from the
Quay School of the Arts,
Universal College of Learning (UCOL),
Whanganui, majoring in printmaking. In 2006, she was a founding member of
Toi Whakaata Māori Print Collective. In 2006, she was invited to SGC International in
Madison, Wisconsin. Also in 2020,
Social Amnesia, an exhibition by Edwards, was exhibited at Te Kōputu a te whanga a Toi,
Whakatāne. Since 2021 she has been a member of
Te Ātinga Contemporary Māori Visual Arts committee. Alongside her in 2025 this committee includes
Margaret Aull (Co-chair), Chris Bryant, Regan Balzer (Co-Chair), Tāwera Tahuri (Secretary), Bonita Bigham,
Rewiti Arapere, Randal Leach and others. She was part of an exhibition,
Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou - With your basket and my basket, with
Marwin Begaye and
Alexis Neal at Arts + Literature Laboratory in Madison in 2022. In 2024, she graduated with a Masters in Maori Visual Arts from
Massey University. == Artworks ==