Erena Donnelly

Erena Donnelly · Pasifika artist

Pasifika Creative

Art deeply influenced by Cook Island heritage and the traditions of storytelling.

Explore the work Get in touch
Painting of a Pasifika woman wearing a red and orange hibiscus crown, painted in vivid blues and oranges, hanging above a teal bench
Painting of a woman with eyes closed and a pink, violet and yellow flower crown, hanging beside a brass wall lamp
Painting of a woman's face tilted upward beneath orange and violet flowers, in deep blues, on a timber-panelled wall
Painting of a woman in a bright flower crown rendered in pink, blue and yellow, displayed in a white room with floating stairs

Portfolio

Selected work

About

About Erena Donnelly

Erena Donnelly is a Pasifika artist whose work is deeply influenced by her Cook Island heritage and the traditions of storytelling. Her creative practice spans digital arts, painting, projection mapping, photography, and makerspace design.

Drawing on the rhythms, motifs, and oral histories of the Pacific, Erena transforms cultural narratives into contemporary forms that speak to identity, resilience, and connection. Her art often bridges traditional storytelling with modern technologies, weaving the ancestral past into present-day creative spaces.

Erena’s work is not just about self-expression but about sparking dialogue — inviting audiences to reflect on their own heritage, community, and place within the wider world.

Black-and-white portrait of Erena Donnelly smiling, wearing hoop earrings and a high-neck jumper

Recognition

Awards & Press

  1. Black-and-white photograph looking up a building facade with a fire escape
    2014Press

    Group Exhibition, 123 Photography - The Shutter Room Whangarei, New Zealand

  2. Textured black-and-white image of a woman’s figure from the Fragmentary series
    2016Press — under the name Locky Monsoon

    Group Exhibition, Fragmentary series - Kings Theatre Creative Kawakawa, New Zealand

  3. Wooden boardwalk curving through native forest — the award-winning photograph
    2017Awards

    Group Competition - Photography (Winner in professional category) - Whangarei: I love it here - Sense of Place, The Shutter Room Whangarei, New Zealand

  4. Hand holding a tablet in front of a colourful digital portrait

Exhibited

Paintings exhibited at Hihiaua Cultural Centre, Whangārei.

Contact Hihiaua Cultural Centre

Gold-framed flower-crown portrait painting by Erena Donnelly

Collaborations

My Clients

  • Manutoi
  • Tohu Indigenous
  • Manurewa High Business Academy
  • Ori Tahiti with Ahuuranui
  • Oceania Creatives
  • Makerspace Manurewa
  • Makerspace Papakura
  • Freethinkbox

Contact

Want to chat?

Email me at erena@oceaniacreatives.com

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