Toi Iho – Back in action!

The topic of copyright/trade marks and in particular the protection of traditional knowledge such as our Maori art forms has always been close to my heart. I wrote a dissertation on the subject at Uni almost a decade ago and it’s something I believe still needs a lot of attention.

As an artist I am seeing firsthand the possibilities for other people to steal my work and try to make a quick buck off it and I am often asked by other budding artists if I am afraid of that happening and what can be done to prevent it. At the end of the day if someone is going to steal your work they will find a way to do it, but here are the things I do to protect myself and my mahi as best I can:

1.         I always bless my work with a karakia before I even start it and then again when it’s completed. This is just a part of the creative process for me because I believe it’s important to give thanks to our tīpuna for the taonga that I am using and also because I want to respect the mauri of  the piece I am creating. The designs which have been handed down to us are only on loan while we are here and I take my responsibility to ensure they are preserved for our tamariki seriously.

2.         I will add a small copyright (c) tag to my pieces either when I sign them on the back for paintings or in the design for prints and tees. This is not strictly required as anything original you create automatically has copyright protection, but its a good way to remind other people of that.

After a long wait, I am happy to report that Toi Iho, the Māori Trademark is (almost) back in action. The trademark was launched by the government around the time I wrote my paper ten years ago but since then has been abandoned by Creative NZ before being picked up by a group of Māori artists and others. It is now in Māori hands and I for one would love to be a part of the new entity once it’s up and running. Protecting our taonga means working together and making it happen. It’s time we started taking control of our heritage instead of waiting for the government to do it for us.

Footlocker is running an amazing competition where you get to colour a pair of your favourite kicks and be in to win a ridiculous prize of $50k! I have been on lock down teaching art classes and designing websites but I managed to throw together a couple of quick entries (pictured).

I am going to do my best to put aside  some time this week to have a good crack at one, even if I don’t win anything its a really fun thing to do. If your stuck at home this long weekend because of the weather with kids bored out of their minds, get them to have a go, its free and heaps of fun and you just never know they might win something! Click here to see one of our entries.