Vision

“Build resilience, restore mana, empower communities through creative arts”.

Who are we?

Mike is primarily of Tainui (Waikato) and Ngāpuhi descent and feels a strong connection to his cultural roots.  His designs are influenced by his Maori heritage combined with inspiration drawn from his faith and urban environment.

Originally from the west coast and grew up in Auckland, family members began paying attention to the art he was creating at school, and pooled resources to send him to Elam Fine Arts School in 1994.  As one of only five Maori/Pacifica students in a class of 75, Mike learned about art and refined his skills.

Mike moved to Gisborne in 1996 to commence study at Toihoukura Maori Visual Arts.  Toihoukura offered a context where he was able to learn about Maori culture and the history of the imagery.  This helped shape who he was as an artist.

His character has been able to come out through the ancient symbols, and he found the freedom to tell his own stories through his art.   Mike completed his Diploma in 2003 with Toihoukura.  Feeling the need to develop further as an artist, he attended Toimairangi Art School in 2011 where he gained his Bachelor’s Degree in Maori Visual Arts under the mentoring of Sandy Adsett.

In the last 8 years Mike has worked in the social sector mentoring predominately young Maori men from under privileged backgrounds.  These young men ranged from Teen Dads to high risk youth offenders.

Linda is primarily a descendant of Ngati Rarua and Ngati Porou.  She grew up in Napier with her parents and four siblings.  In 2001 she moved to Palmerston North to study at Massey University Teacher’s College.  After graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Education in 2005, she and her daughter Jessie moved to Gisborne, where she married Mike.

Linda too has years of experience working with young people.  Prior to becoming a teacher, she worked in a number of youth programmes, mentoring and teaching life skills.  Following this she has taught as a primary school teacher for seven years, working in predominately Maori communities, which she loved.   In recent years she has worked in a support role at Maia House, a residence for young mothers and their children.

In 2018 Wheku Design was birthed out of a desire to combine their passion for empowering people through the facilitation of art for resilience programme, installation of large-scale murals in public spaces and T-Shirt designs all of which aims to promote identity and wellbeing.