The Cook Islands and Rarotonga have a very fertile soil for Art
To show and share the local culture with visitors is certainly part of the artists' motivation, but there are other reasons why our art forms are thriving. In ancient Polynesia, artists and priest were both called Ta‘unga, enjoyed a special status and worked under the protection of the chiefs. Art in Polynesia was taken as serious as story telling in dance and tattooing, to mark authority and to give power or mana (super natural) to practical items like canoes and costumes.
While traditional arts took a beating after the arrival of the early missionaries, artists have emerged again. In the last 30 years, Cook Islands dance has developed to an increasingly creative art form with high standards, pushed further at the annual dance competitions.
Carving has also been revived. Traditional wood and stone sculpture have been rediscovered and new methods developed with intricate and original shapes and patterns. Early designs of voyaging canoes have been researched and adapted to modern materials and requirements, and a new generation of Vaka are now sailing the Pacific.
Tattooing is very popular again and new motifs continue to evolve.
Textile art is presently one of the most high-profile art forms in the Cook Islands. Old and new creations of Tivaivai are in museums and exhibitions are held internationally. Our distinctly own fashion designs are not only worn proudly in the 'Cooks', but also on catwalks overseas.
But of all the art forms practiced in the Cook Islands, painting has developed the most. 25 years ago you could have counted the local painters on one hand, including the few papa‘a (non-Polynesian) resident artists. The local branch of the University of the South Pacific (USP) organized workshops in 1984 and 1996 to promote painting, with established artists Pilioko and Michoutouchkine from Vanuatu telling the local and resident artists to get "cracking". Many of them did, and some never stopped.
Over the last 15 years, the local visual arts have been fertilized by several New Zealand and Australian trained artists returning to the Cook Islands. Together with dynamic new galleries on Rarotonga, they developed their ideas and created a vigorous art scene, encouraging several young artists to take up art as a career.
The following artists contribute with their imagination, some continue researching traditional images, and all create their own visual language to show and share their experiences, feelings and ideas.
Atua - Andrea Hewitt
Acrylic paintings of Cook Islands subjects on canvas.
Saturday market, Avatiu.

Andrea Eimke
Fibre arts, tivaivai, clothing, sculptures, installations, jewelery.
Atiu Fibre Arts Studio.

Ani Exham-Dun
Acrylic paintings of Polynesian patterns on board.
Saturday market, Avatiu.

Ani O´Neil
Conceptual artist with fibres and mixed media, installations.
The Art Studio, Arorangi.

Apii Rongo
Oil paintings, prints of traditional island life and themes.
Beachcomber Contemporary Art, Avarua.

Bianca Whittaker
Acrylics of stylized Cook Islands scenery, patterns.
The Art Studio, Arorangi.

Croc Caulter
Acrylic paintings of Polynesian tattoo patterns on canvas.
The Art Studio, Arorangi.

Kanoe Heidi Aquino
Acrylic and sand paintings of Pacific motifs on board.
Kota’a Art Ngatangi´ia.

Glenn Miller (Hori)
Oil and acrylic paintings on board of Polynesian patterns.
Moana Gems Gallery, Avarua.

Ian George
Acrylic, oil and mixed media paintings on canvas and board. Totems of Cook Islands and Pacific themes.
The Art Studio, Arorangi.

Jane Lamb
Acrylic and oil paintings of Cook Islands flora and fauna.

Jéanne Humphreys
Acrylic, oil, watercolour paintings on tapa and paper.
Atiu Tours & Homestay.

Joan Rolls-Gragg
Oil paintings, woodcut prints of Cook Islands life.
The Art Studio, Arorangi.

Judith Kunzlé
Prints, paintings of Cook Islands dancers, landscapes, tropical still lives. Moana Gems Galleries, Avarua and Koru Cafè, Aitutaki.

Kay George
Acrylic, oil and mixed media paintings on canvas and board, hand-painted textiles, dresses, T-shirts. The Art Studio, Arorangi.

Loretta Reynolds
Acrylics on board of Cook Islands icons and patterns.
The Art Studio, Arorangi, Beachcomber Contemporary Art, Avarua.

Maria File
Oil paintings on canvas and board of Cook Islands subjects.
Saturday market, Avatiu.

Michael and Awhitia Tavioni
Wood & stone carvings, traditional canoes.
Saturday market, Avatiu.

Nga Vakapora
Silk screen designs on T-shirts.
NDS Nga Designs, O‘oa, Upper Tupapa.

Papa Atera
Pastels on board of stylized Cook Island themes.

Mahiriki Tangaroa
Oil paintings, prints, photography.
The Art Studio, Arorangi.

Eruera Nia
Wood carvings & mixed media. Ina Nui Gallery, Avarua.

Tim Buchanan
Figurative and abstract oil and acrylic paintings of Island life. Beachcomber Contemporary Art, Avarua.

Tokerau Jim
Pearl and pearl-shell carvings with traditional designs. Tokerau Jim studio store, opposite airport and Matavera, Rarotonga.


Krick Barraud
Installations and acrylic paintings.
The Art Studio, Arorangi.

Varu Samuel
Oil & acrylic paintings of Cook Islands themes.
Beachcomber Contemporary Art, Avarua.
