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Moana Nepia (Peter Moana Nepia) is a visual and performing artist whose international career includes work as a choreograher, dancer, curator, painter, and video artist. Nepia is an Assistant Professor in the Center for Pacific Islands Studies at the University of Hawai'i, and an Arts Editor for The Contemporary Pacific- A Journal of Island Affairs.

Nepia was born on September 2nd 1957 in Auckland, New Zealand. He is of Irish, English and Māori ancestry from Ngāti Porou, Rongowhakaata, Te Aitanga a Hauiti and Ruawaipu. Nepia studied dance at the VCA in Melbourne in the 1980's, and has performed with Maaka Jones’ Maori cultural group Te Wahipounamu, Impulse Dance Theater in NZ, the Royal NZ Ballet, Extemporary Dance Theater, Dance Advance, Vienna Festival Ballet English National Opera, choreographed for the NZ Ballet, Taiao, choreographic projects for Education departments of the Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and London City Ballet Companies. He then retrained as a visual artist and has an Honours Degree in Fine Arts (First Class) in Painting from Chelsea College of the Arts and Wimbleton School of Art, where his Honours dissertation was nominated for the 1998 annual British Art Historians' Thesis prize. Nepias work has been included in exhibitions in Australia, Singapore, the UK, Germany, Canada, the US and Palau, and in 2003 he showcased his work in New Zealand with the exhibition Ake Ake Ake, and was also a lecturer at the Elam School of Fine Arts in Auckland University in 2011.

In 2012 Nepia completed and published his practice-led thesis, Te Kore- Exploring the Māori concept of Void, for which he was awarded a PhD from AUT University in 2013. The creative thesis explored different perceptions of Te Kore and how these may influence decision making in performance. Nepia describes the exegesis as an "inter-disciplinary practice-led investigation theorised from a Māori perspective drawing upon cosmological narratives, linguistic and literary analysis, and investigations through creative writing, choreography, performance, and video installation".

Nepia's writings and reviews feature extensively in various journals and websites including ''Ora Nui. Journal of contemporary Maori writing(edited by Anton Blank in 2012), Of Other Thoughts. Non-traditional Approaches to the Doctorate. A Handbook for Candidates and Supervisors: From ontology to action (edited by Reina Whaitiri and Robert Sullivan in 2014), and Collaboration in Performance Practice (edited by Colin N., & Sachsenmaier S.), and Theatreview''.

Further links
Monsalve, F.(2003)- https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=3197388 The Outstanding Field: Artistic Research Emerging from the Academy - A Symposium. 19th — 21st of March 2015- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwyV1R9zq8o Moana Nepia (2012). Whero. - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaR- Moana Nepia (2010). Maungauika Trilogy. - http://www.ziln.co.nz/video/84 Lisa Reihana in conversation with Moana Nepia (Mar 28, 2017) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWgXrPDMTjM Rosanna Raymond, Moana Nepia, Maeva Minerbi - Dance Performance at Mark's Garage (Oct 22, 2013) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_lK08qHEZQ Moana Nepia Performs for Hawaiʻi Review’s Issue 81: Muliwai Launch (May 15, 2015) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uKYjb4eGY8