Ngāti Tuwharetoa, Whakatōhea, Ngāti Kahu

Vanessa Wairata Edwards is a printmaker and graduate of Taupō Quay School of Fine Arts, Whanganui, 2002. Based in Whanganui, Edwards has been making and exhibiting throughout New Zealand and beyond ever since.

A founding member of Toi Whakaata Māori Print collective (2006), Edwards has been a part of the NZ print conversation for over 15 years and has represented Māori printmaking in several contexts. Her passion for printmaking as an indigenous form of expression has seen Edwards develop and refine what it is to approach print as an indigenous Māori. Her works explore concepts around ongoing acts of self-determination, authentic connection and cultural sovereignty.