Sofia Tekela-Smith

Sofia Tekela-Smith (born 1970) is a Scottish/Rotuman artist living in Aotearoa, New Zealand, specialising in jewellery and body adornments. Her work is held in the permanent collections of The Metropolitan Museum New York Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki and Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.

Life Tekela-Smith was born in Auckland, New Zealand, in 1970 to Meriama Sauitu-Tavo island of Rotuma, a protectorate of Fiji and John Smith, from Uddingston Glasgow, Scotland/Longford, Ireland. Tekela-Smith was raised on Rotuma by their maternal grandmother Mue Tekela and grandfather Sumasafu Petero until her grandmother's death in the early 1980s, when she returned to Auckland to live with her parents.

Tekela-Smith's jewellery uses traditional materials such as bone, shell and stone. She first exhibited in 1993 in Tufa'atasi, a fashion show at the International Festival of the Arts in Wellington. In 1996 her work was included in some group shows in Auckland and she also performed with Pacific Sisters at the Seventh South Pacific Festival of the Arts in Apia, Samoa. Digital workshop teaching Interview 2003 - The CoconetTv - The Metropolitan Museum 2025 ABC Pacific News 2025