Whakairo carving workshop with Ngaroma Riley

Learn reduction carving techniques with Pohewa Pāhewa: Te Rūma exhibiting maker and whakairo artist Ngaroma Riley (Te Rarawa, Te Aupōuri, Pākehā) using a commonplace material: soap.

Using accessible and safe tools, you’ll learn skills and techniques for working in 3D. With these skills you'll test the waters of whakairo and build a strong foundation of carving skills. Along with techniques, Ngaroma will share tikanga around carving and explain the ancestral form and function of the kōruru mask.

This workshop is aimed at beginners but can be tailored to suit those with more experience.

Tickets are $10.00, with tools and materials provided.

Suitable for adults and young people aged 12 +. This workshop takes place upstairs at Objectspace, 13 Rose Road, Ponsonby.

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Ngaroma Riley is an artist and people connector of Te Rarawa, Te Aupōuri, and Pākehā descent. A founder of Te Ana o Hine, a wahine-led carving shed based at Te Tuhi in Tāmaki Makaurau, Ngaroma began her carving journey making Buddhist statues while working in Japan. Since returning to Aotearoa in 2020, she has completed a Certificate in Whakairo at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa. In 2022, she built a storehouse for a public installation in Kaitaia, and in 2025, she won the Molly Morpeth Canaday Major Award. She is known for her karetao (hand-carved puppets) and love of chainsaws.

Images:

[Header] Soap-carved whakairo / image from previous workshop, courtesy of the artist

[1] Ngaroma Riley, photograph by Jinki Cambronero

[2] Soap-carved whakairo / image from previous workshop, courtesy of the artist

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