Young local artist exhibits at Hula Café

Hannah Coleman- Smith is an accomplished artist. A 2.4m by 1.2m mural painted by Hannah adorns the foyer at The Mercury Bay Area School. From an early age, in her own words, “I have been painting and drawing practically since I could walk, and loving it ever since.”

During Year 13 at MBAS, she was fortunate to be the recipient of an Art Escape mentoring programme with well-known artists. Her first exhibition was as part of a local artists group in Kūaotunu Hall in 2018. The following year she displayed a large mural and one other work in the Ngārti Exhibition as part of Tuia 250. It is this work that resides at the school she attended.

Hannah has used her interest in photography and her beautiful singing to deepen the message behind the art she produces and the experience of growing up on a bush block in Kūaotunu has been a rich environment for developing her love of art.

Hannah’s work specialises in portraiture and a mixture of acrylic and digital mediums. Her powerful reflections of Māori culture and the hurdles of Māori women in that culture, which feature in some of her work, set Hannah apart. Yet she is only just beginning her journey as a New Zealand artist.

Take time to see Hannah’s exhibition of her art. She is offering limited edition framed prints of her works for sale at Hula Café, 5 Albert Street Whitianga, until mid-July.

Hannah’s instagram is hanakowhaiart.