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My wife is an Artist, She is 77 years old and has earned her living all her life through art. One of the things she does is pictures in a frame. She takes photos or paintings or drawings and frames them. Around the outside she decorates the picture with various trinkets, bits of Paua, dried plant, and Maori carvings or imitations of.

In the last few days both the estuary gallery in Orewa and the Kumeu gallery have returned her work because Iwi claimed her work steals Maori Icons. Iwi say she needs to get permission from them, i.e. Pay them a royalty.

We are boiling over this. How dare they.

Basically they have intimidated the gallery owners and forced them to take this action.

Please publish this on your blog. Quite clearly money, nothing to do with art. Bullying and harassment. Tikanga.

Tane Tipuna
Northland
tonyb@sailaway.co.nz