Professor Jahnke is currently the Head of The School of Maori Studies, and Maori Visual Arts Programme Coordinator at Massey University, with research specialties in Māori visual arts, and the history of Māori visual culture (traditional/contemporary).

Born in Waipiro Bay in 1951, Robert Jahnke originally trained in design and film, but has since become a leading sculptor in New Zealand artistic circles. His mixed German/Samoan/Maori/Irish ancestry epitomises the makeup of modern New Zealand. Jahnke is an advocate for biculturalism, with tribal affiliations to Te Whanau a Rakairoa, Te Whanau a Iritekura, Ngai Taharora, and Ngati Porou. (more…)