Molly Pihigia

Molima Molly Pihigia is a Niuean weaver, arts advocate and healthcare worker based in New Zealand. She founded Falepipi he Mafola, a Niuean handcraft group, in 1993.

Life and career Pihigia was born in Alofi, Niue, and moved to Wellington, New Zealand as a 19-year-old in February 1970. She moved to Auckland in 1990.

She founded Falepipi he Mafola, a Niuean handcraft group for older people which promotes the art of weaving and Niuean culture and language, in April 1993. The group received the Pacific Heritage Arts Award at the 2009 Arts Pasifika Awards for "active community engagement with promotion of Niuean heritage arts". At the time, Pihigia explained that the regular meetings of the group had become "an avenue for us to develop, maintain and promote the Niuean handcraft skills in weaving, plaiting, netting, carving and most importantly language". Since 2010 she has been a tutor and artist for Tupumaiaga A Niue Trust.

In the 2020 Queen's Birthday Honours, Pihigia was awarded the Queen's Service Medal, for services to Niuean art and the community.