Pins for a Purpose celebrates the heart of our community: how small, thoughtful acts can come together to create meaningful change. It’s a reminder that creativity and generosity often begin in humble places, and that what might seem small on its own can become powerful when shared.
Every pin in this exhibition holds a story of the artist who created it, the memories it evokes, and the collective hope it carries for the future of The Arts Village.
All pins were auctioned to support The Arts Village.
1. Maria Hermans
Maria is the owner-operator of Toodamnlippy Creative. A lifelong maker, she’s been immersed in creativity since she was a wee tot—painting, raiding her mum’s makeup, dressing up, and diving into worlds of fantasy. That same playful spirit continues to fuel her work today.
2. Frances Berkers
Rotorua-born creative Frances Berkers holds a Bachelor of Media Arts (Honours) and a Diploma in Marketing. With experience in events, exhibitions, and television, she is passionate about supporting other creatives. Frances is also a painter and filmmaker, balancing her practice with home renovations and life with her two young children.
3. Pip Lewis
“I’ve had 42 addresses and look pakeha. It’s been hard to find identity, meaning and a place to belong.
Painting lets me make that for myself. It is an expression that can be challenged, ridiculed, enjoyed or whatever but it will always be mine alone. There is a grounding and comfort in that.”
4. Heidi Stook
Art has always been my companion. From childhood scribbles to mud, concrete, paint, canvas, and fine paper, I have spent my life creating. Exhibited across New Zealand and beyond, my work is shaped by creativity—its presence inspires me, its absence reminds me of its importance.
5. Nicola Wright
A Rotorua-based multi-disciplinary artist and sculptor. Working in stone, metal, and paper, she explores curves and flowing forms, creating artworks that celebrate simplicity, elegance, and the quiet beauty of natural movement.
6. Maureen Drayton
Martin Luther (1483-1546), a German pastor and avid 10-pin bowler once preached a sermon that proclaimed that people should strive for perfection in life but when we roll a gutterball, all is not lost.
Recycled NZ postage stamps
7. Razor Tazer Lazer
Multidisciplinary mural and street artist, who paints with aerosol, brush, and stencil.
8. Mark Spijkerbosch
Delivers public art in New Zealand and abroad. An international award-winning artist experienced in the illusion genre.
9. Geyserland Art Group
The group first formed when art enthusiasts began meeting in homes and local spaces to paint and draw together. What started as informal gatherings has grown into a weekly club—an enduring, supportive community where artists connect and share their love of art.
10. Pleasure Art Group
The Pleasure Art Group is a welcoming community of artists meeting regularly at The Arts Village. Open to all mediums, members enjoy workshops, creative connection, and an annual exhibition.
11. Yaniv Janson
Living with neurodiversity, Janson faces unique challenges with remarkable resilience and grace. He creates opportunities for marginalised groups to be recognised, celebrated, and, most importantly, valued.
12. Jane Johnson-Matua
Rotorua-based artist whose work explores memory, culture, and environment. Using texture, colour, and found materials, she creates layered pieces that reflect on taonga tuku iho—treasures handed down from ancestors, from stories and language to objects and the natural world. Her practice balances experimentation with a strong sense of place, moving between uku (clay), painting, collage, and assemblage.
13. Kaycie O’Connor
Rotorua local Kaycie O’Connor is the Communications & Strategy Manager at The Rotorua Trust. An award-winning artist, speaker, and celebrant whose work is inspired by sport, the outdoors, and community. Whether creating in the studio, behind a camera, or running half marathons, she is passionate about connection and inspiring others to perform at their best.
14. Trish De Muth
I wanted to create something decorative out of the pin, which is anything but decorative. I have been dabbling in alternative photography for a while so decided rather than paint something as I usually do I would try to create a cyanotype image on it. Cyanotype is one of the earliest methods of photography invented in 1843, and was used initially by Anna Atkins to create silhouettes of seaweed. It became commonly used for “blueprints” for house designs and floor plans.
Usually cyanotype images are created on paper or flat surfaces so it took a lot of experimenting to do it on a round wooden object.
Because the pin is made from different kinds of wood laminated together, it was impossible to get a consistent range of lighter tones.
I used silver leaf to enhance the silhouettes and create a more decorative appearance. I decided early on that I would also perch a cyanotype and silver butterfly on the top. That was a challenge in itself!
15. Natasha Morrison
Natasha celebrates the cultural significance and shared connections of her Māori and Aboriginal heritage, creating a visual experience that invites viewers to see, reflect, and connect across cultures.
16. Angela Frank
TITLE: UP
Rough. Seas. Life. Love. Loss. Family. Grief. Growth. Skittle and Open..
17. Kahn Basher
Title: Tiki
“Tiki’ by Kahn is a playful yet evocative piece that blends traditional Māori symbolism with the familiar form of a ten pin. The pin’s carved features invite viewers to consider the intersection of sport, culture, and storytelling, turning a simple object into a canvas of identity and creativity.
18. Rihipa Taiatini
Her name is Aroha and she has a golden nugget if you can find it.
She represents Ukaipotanga
19. Laureen (Soo-eun) lee
Title: Healing the Wounds of a Bowling Pin
Once struck and scarred through countless falls, this bowling pin carries the memory of impact in every mark. Wrapped in soft white pompoms, it is tenderly bandaged, its hardness gentled and renewed. White evokes healing, purity, and quiet beginnings, transforming the object’s history of damage into serenity. The work holds together fracture and care, loss and renewal, suggesting that wounds are not to be erased, but reimagined—as openings for beauty, meaning, and new stories to unfold.
At first, I tried to draw or paint on the bowling pin, but there were already many scratches and cracks. I tried to fix them, but soon realized I had failed. Then I tried using clay, but it cracked easily and wasn’t strong enough.
That was when I began to truly focus on the scratches and cracks themselves. Finally, I decided to heal the wounds with yarn—a soft material I already had in abundance. Some wounds may be unforgettable, but that doesn’t mean they are impossible to heal.
20. Riley Claxton
“I love Sci-fi as a genre—the possibilities and potential are as vast as imagination itself. I hope, as a community, we will always continue to support our artists, and especially The Arts Village, to ‘live long and prosper.’”
21. Kingi Aupouri
Title: 300! Perfect score
A traditional Māori woodcarver from Rotorua graduating from the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute (NZMACI) in mid-2025. He descends from a distinguished lineage of six generations of carvers, upholding and extending the artistic traditions of his whānau. Through his practice, Kingi is dedicated to the preservation and advancement of customary Māori carving. He maintains an active presence on social media, where he documents his creative journey and shares insights into the tikanga and processes that inform his work.
22. Erena Koopu
Erena Koopu (Te Whānau-a-Apanui) creates work that embodies her commitment to sustaining Māori culture through creative expression. Her practice encourages others to uncover their own creative core, weaving personal and collective narratives of identity and belonging. Influenced by te ao Māori — its values, people, and worldview — Erena translates these inspirations into visual forms that carry deep cultural resonance and symbolism.
23. Kellez McManus
There were grumblings in Mahia, when Hatua fled, a fiery dragon was conjured and sent to Te Teko. Hatua readied the pou that protected him from the ember-wing that would return again in 76 years.
I have also included a nod to Shane Cottons style and colours, these strips talk to the many tamariki of Ranginui and Papatuanuku, the strip left unpainted is Te Ao Mārama.
24. David Edwards
Te Pō – The Perpetual Night
Te Ao Mārama – The World of Light and Life
Landscapes draw me in—their quiet expanses invite a pause, a breath, a moment of being. In painting them, I strive to capture more than what is seen: the calm, the refuge, the whisper of belonging a place can hold. My hope is that each work offers others a space to rest, to release, and to simply be.