| Mike Tavioni | |
| Birth Place: | Rarotonga, Cook Islands |
| Alma Mater: | Tereora College Northland College Massey University Auckland University of Technology |
Mitaera Ngatae Teatuakaro Michael Tavioni (born 1947) is a Cook Islands artist and writer. A master carver, he has been described as a taonga (treasure).[1] His role in the pacific art community is recognised from New Zealand to Hawaii.[2]
Tavioni was born on Rarotonga. He was educated at Tereora College, then at Northland College, Kaikohe and Massey University in New Zealand, graduating with a degree in Agriculture & Horticulture.[3] After working as a public servant in the Agriculture Department, he became a full-time artist.[3] In 2019 he graduated with a Master of Fine Arts from Auckland University of Technology.[4] [5]
He has worked in a wide variety of mediums, including printing, painting, wood, stone, and bone, as well as traditional tattooing.[3] In 1975 he began printing t-shirts using wooden blocks.[6] He experimented with other mediums, but initially found it difficult to obtain tools and materials.[6] In 1996 he oversaw the creation of the Punanga Nui market.[7] In 2002 he published a poetry collection, Speak Your Truth.[8] His work is displayed at the Punanga Nui in Avarua and the University of the South Pacific campus.[9] In 2016 he was commissioned, alongside New Zealand-based artist Michel Tuffery, to create a carved wooden gateway for the RSA memorial cemetery to commemorate the centenary of Cook Islands participation in the First World War.[10]
Tavioni unsuccessfully stood as a candidate for the Unity party in the 1978 Cook Islands general election.[11] He later stood as a candidate for the Te Kura O Te ʻAu People's Movement in Avatiu–Ruatonga–Palmerston in the 2010 election.[12]
Tavioni now runs a gallery and art school in Rarotonga,[13] where he teaches traditional vaka-making.[14] In 2021 he was the subject of a short documentary film, Taonga: An Artists Activist.[15]
In the 2022 Birthday Honours he was awarded the British Empire Medal for services to the arts and to the community.[16]