(b. 1946) 

Ngai Tahu, Ngāti Mutunga  

Lives in Ōtautahi 

Ranui is a respected weaver and Māori art leader known for her continuity of weaving practises and conservation of weaving materials specific to Te Wai Pounamu. 

Rangi has also been responsible for several significant national and international weaving projects. She drove the Māori weaving exhibition, ‘The Eternal Thread’, which toured art galleries in Aotearoa and North America (2004-2007), and with Miriama Evans, authored the 2005 publication, The Art of Māori Weaving. She also contributes to the creation of ceremonial garments, such as the kahu huruhuru Te Māhutonga (2004), made for the New Zealand Olympic Committee and worn by the New Zealand team flag bearer. 

In 2008 Ranui was elected to Te Kāhui Whiritoi, the class of master weavers awarded by Te Roopu Raranga Whatu o Aotearoa, the national committee of Māori weavers, and the National School of Māori Weaving at the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute. 

Her weaving featured in ‘Te Puna Waiora’, an exhibition of the work of Te Kāhui Whiritoi, and accompanying publication, presented at Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna Waiwhetu (2021-22). Ranui is currently involved in a Marsden-fund research project investigating Te Rā, the only extant Māori ocean-voyaging sail, held in the British Museum collection and scheduled for exhibition in Aotearoa in 2023.