Lily Laita, first Pacific woman graduate of Elam

The late Lily Aitui Laita graduated from Elam School of Fine Arts in 1990, becoming its first Pacific woman graduate. The following year she completed a Diploma in Teaching and went on to gain a Master of Fine Arts, in Painting, in 2002.

Laita (Ngāti Raukawa/Māori, Tanugamanono/Sāmoa) was part of the first generation of Māori and Pacific artists to study fine arts in Aotearoa New Zealand during the 1980s. A founding member of Tautai Pacific Arts Trust, she was an artist of international importance with Te Papa Museum holding 18 of her works in their collection.

 A highly respected arts educator, Laita was Head of Art at Western Springs College, serving for more than three decades, teaching and influencing a generation of artists in expressive painting and making.

Award-winning artist Ani O’Neill (Cook Island, Ireland) graduated from the University's Elam School of Fine Arts in 1994, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts majoring in sculpture. O’Neill’s practice is grounded in her mother’s homeland of Rarotonga and her birthplace within the Pacific diaspora of Auckland.

Inspired by her grandmother’s teachings of Cook Islands material and ceremonial culture, O’Neill’s seemingly infinite kete of inspiration has extended to craft, installation, objects, and performance, and today is a member of the renowned Pacific Sisters, a Tāgata Moana art collective. She recalled her student days at Elam with Lily in 1990.

“The amazing Lily was in her fourth year when I first started, the fourth-year students from that year were so epic, they made us feel welcome and valued.”

O’Neill paid tribute to Laita, not only for her vast and enduring influence but also for paving the way for others like herself, who followed the courageous and bold path Lily Laita and her peers had forged.

Laita passed away aged 54 on Friday 6 October surrounded by family and friends singing her out softly. She is survived by her husband and two sons.