Jim Vivieaere

Jim Vivieaere (1947-2011) was a Cook Islands Māori artist, curator, mentor and arts advocate whose practice significantly influenced the development of contemporary Pacific art in Aotearoa and the wider Tautai community. Born in Waipawa in 1947 to Rarotongan and Mangaian parents, he was fostered out to papa’a families from birth. He studied at Ilam, the University of Canterbury School of Fine Arts, developing an artistic and curatorial practice shaped by questions of Pacific identity, cultural representation and the place of Pacific art within contemporary institutions. 

Vivieaere was closely connected to Tautai, serving as Co-Chair alongside Gina Cole from 2004–2006. He supported and mentored generations of Pacific artists and maintained strong relationships across the arts sector in Aotearoa and internationally. 

His curatorial practice was particularly influential. In 1994, he curated Bottled Ocean: Contemporary Polynesian Artists at Wellington City Gallery, a groundbreaking exhibition that toured New Zealand and brought together a generation of Pacific artists. The exhibition challenged institutional perceptions of Pacific art and affirmed its breadth, complexity and contemporary relevance. 

Vivieaere’s legacy continues through the artists, curators and cultural practitioners he supported and influenced.