Veranoa Hetet

Veranoa Angelique Hetet (born 1966) is a New Zealand Māori weaver and contemporary artist.

Biography Hetet was born in 1966 in Waiwhetū, Lower Hutt. She was taught how to weave her first kete when she was 13 years old by her mother Erenora Puketapu-Hetet. Her mother went on to teach her weaving techniques in raranga, tāniko and whatu kakahu, and from her father she learnt tukutuku and kowhaiwhai from her father, master carver Rangi Hetet.

In 2012 Hetet and her group of weavers Te Roopu Mīro were weavers in residence for the exhibition Kahu Ora at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. In a previous discussion with Awhina Tamarapa, the curator of Kuhu Ora, Hetet describes her passion for learning, 'Every time you learn a technique, it opens up the possibilities even more. So the more you’re exposed to, the more possibilities there are for creating things'. In 2014 she received a substantial arts grant to produce works for an exhibition at The Dowse Art Museum. She has exhibited and travelled widely, including a 2014 one-month residency on St Helena, researching and teaching about extracting muka from the flax which has grown on the island since the mid-1900s. The Waiwhetū Marae has a close association with the Hetet family and the meeting house Aroha ki te Tangata includes art work by Veranoa Hetet as well as her mother and father.

Honours and awards In the 2020 New Year Honours, Hetet was awarded the Queen's Service Medal, for services to Māori art.

Exhibitions Her work has been exhibited at The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, The Dowse Art Museum, City Gallery Wellington, Waikato Museum and Puke Ariki.

Kahu Ora (2012), Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Veranoa Hetet: Creating Potential (10 Oct 2020 – 28 Feb 2021), The Dowse Art Museum

Family Hetet’s mother was master weaver Erenora Puketapu-Hetet, and her father is master carver Rangi Hetet.

Hetet is married to carver Sam Hauwaho. They have five children.