Rānui Ngārimu

In 2021/2022 a selection of her works were exhibited at the Christchurch Art Gallery in the Te Puna Waiora: The Distinguished Weavers of Te Kāhui Whiritoi exhibition.

In the 2020 New Year Honours, Ngārimu was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

As part of her weaving practice Ngārimu repairs, restores, and replicates customary Māori garments. Since 2018, she has been a member of the team undertaking a three year research project on Te Rā, the last known Māori sail. She works with Catherine Smith of the University of Otago and Donna Campbell of the University of Waikato studying the sail from a Mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) perspective combined with western scientific knowledge.

Ngārimu is a member and former chairperson of Te Roopu Raranga Whatu o Aotearoa. Her master weaver status was formally acknowledged when she was appointed to the Kāhui Whiritoi group of Te Roopu Raranga Whatu o Aotearoa in 2008. Her works are held in national and international collections. She has created such notable taonga as Te Māhutonga (the Southern Cross), the cloak worn by the flag bearer of the New Zealand Olympic team. Ngārimu has also been an integral member of the team researching Te Rā, the last known Māori sail, a project funded by a Marsden grant. Ngārimu is heavily involved in supporting kapa haka and te reo Māori.

Ngārimu is regarded as a master weaver with this status being formally acknowledged in 2008 when she was appointed by Te Roopu Raranga Whatu and the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute to the Kāhui Whiritoi group. As a member of this group Ngārimu hosts students to discuss weaving and encourage the development of exhibitions. She also supports and provides guidance on the strategic direction of Te Roopu Raranga Whatu and champions weaving through national institutions and international networks.

Ngārimu has created individual works as well as collaborated on weaving projects with other master weavers. She has weaved gifts for the British royal family. She also created a cloak given to the mayor and city of San Francisco. She led a national weaving project creating 800 kete for the 2007 World Heritage Conference in Christchurch. In 2013 Ngārimu led a project in Antarctica creating two tukutuku panels, helping to represent Māori culture at Scott Base. Ngārimu was also commissioned by the New Zealand chapter of Zonta International to design and weave a kākahu (Māori cloak) for use by members representing the chapter at international conventions. Ngārimu subsequently created a kākahu named Tohu Aroha (Gift of Love).

Ngārimu coauthored The Art of Māori Weaving, a book based on an exhibition of Māori weaving at Pātaka Museum in Porirua. The book was a finalist in the Montana Book Awards. This book was the culmination of Ngārimu's participation in the Māori Art Meets America exhibition that visited San Francisco in 2005. The weaving part of this exhibition went on to transform into “The Eternal Thread” and these taonga were exhibited in Portland, Oregon, Washington State, and at the Christchurch Art Gallery.

Ngārimu and Te Aue Davis wove Te Māhutonga (the Southern Cross), the Olympic cloak. Te Māhutonga is the cloak that has been worn by the flag bearer of the New Zealand Olympic team since the 2004 Olympics. It took over seven months to make and includes feathers from kiwi, tīeke (saddleback), toroa (albatross) and kākāpō. The design of the cloak incorporates a silver fern pattern (the emblem used by New Zealand sports teams). Te Māhutonga was named by Dame Te Atairangikaahu.

Ngārimu is the sister of Miriama Evans with whom she co-wrote The Art of Māori Weaving. Ngārimu was married to Harold Carr "Judge" Ngārimu who died in 1997, and raised five children with him.

Ngārimu is a member and former chairperson of Te Roopu Raranga Whatu o Aotearoa, having been invited onto the committee of Aotearoa Moananui A Kiwa in 1988. She is heavily involved in supporting and organising Kapa haka performances and events. She is a member of the Waitaha Cultural Council Trust and helped organise the Te Matatini Festival at Hagley Park in 2015. Ngārimu also works to support the use of te reo Māori, volunteering as a teacher of Te Ataarangi and uses as a learning tool cuisenaire rods. She has also been a judge at several Te Matatini competitions.

In 1986 Ngārimu was voted the West Coast Woman of the Year. In 2018 Ngārimu was the recipient of the Te Waka Toi Ngā Tohu ā Tā Kingi Ihaka (Sir Kingi Ihaka Award), which recognises the recipient's lifetime contribution to Māori arts. Ngārimu was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to Māori art and culture, particularly weaving, in the 2020 New Years Honours.

Rānui Ngārimu ONZM (née Phillips; born 1946) is a New Zealand Māori weaver and textile artist. She affiliates with Ngāi Tahu and Ngāti Mutungā iwi.