Ariana Tikao

Ariana Tikao (she/her/ia) is a Kāi Tahu writer, māmā, curator, and taoka puoro musician from Ōtautahi whose work explores themes of identity, ancestral stories, and mana wahine. She was awarded as an Arts Laureate in 2020. Her writing has appeared in Takahē, Turbine, Kapohau, Tupuranga, Swamp, and Landfall. Ariana has co-written two books: Mokorua: My Story of Moko Kauae and Te Rā: The Māori Sail. She has an MA in Creative Writing from the IIML at Te Herenga Waka. In 2023 she was an Ursula Bethell writer in residence at the University of Canterbury, where she worked on her debut poetry collection Pepeha Portal, that will be published by Otago University Press in 2026.