Donna Campbell is a lecturer in Maori material culture, indigenous textile creation, and Maori art history at the School of Maori and Pacific Development, University of Waikato, in Hamilton, Aotearoa, New Zealand. Her field of expertise is contemporary weaving in terms of new directions in Maori fibre, and avant-garde construction in woven textile. Recent works include exhibitions involving light and digital imagery. Her métier initially involved working with traditional Maori materials to make traditional kete (baskets), an activity, which from a western paradigm, equates to the making of fine art. Ms. Campbell’s work reflects the dynamic of an indigenous artist negotiating the bi-cultural interface that is New Zealand.
Ms. Campbell’s works implement the technology of the ancient art form of Raranga (Maori weaving) to create new and innovative pieces that carry the mana (prestige) of weaving, and speak with the voice of the urban modern Maori. As a practitioner and teacher of Raranga for many years she is constantly inspired by the complexity of pattern, and the commitment to craft. She is in awe of our tupuna (ancestors) and gratefully acknowledges the many teachers and mentors that have passed this gift on to her.
 

Ms. Campbell’s work has been exhibited widely in venues such as the Waikato Museum, Hamilton; Randolph St Studios, Auckland; the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, UK; the Hallie Ford Museum of Art, Salem, Oregon; and the Tairawhiti Museum, Gisborne.

She received a 2005 Master of Fine Arts from Whitecliffe College of Art and Design, Auckland, a 1999 Post Graduate Diploma of Fine Arts from the Elam School of Fine Art, Auckland, and is a graduate of Waiariki Polytechnic, 1991, with a Diploma of Craft Design Maori.