Sarah Peti Sian Hudson (born ) is an Aotearoa New Zealand artist, researcher, and mÃÂmàof NgÃÂti Awa, NgÃÂi Tà «hoe, and NgÃÂti Pà «keko descent based in WhakatÃÂne.
Hudson began her artistic practice by completing a Master in Fine Arts with Distinction through Massey University Wellington in 2010. On the whole she has exhibited both individually and in the mana wahine Mataaho Collective for national and global audiences. The collective have worked together since 2012 with 'single authorship' and recently were awarded the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale in 2024.
In her physical practice she is classified as a lens focused artist, however this doesn't cover the breadth of her works. Hudson's photography, performance, installation, Raranga (weaving), video, and sculpture works all convey variations of the artist's thematics: mÃÂtauranga MÃÂori, mana wahine, media, gender and sport, tino rangatiratanga, whakapapa, matemateÃÂone, play, whenua (land), and the idea of different connections with others.
Another core aspect of her creative works is often their location, interaction with their respective environment, and incorporation of natural, earth sourced materials. This interest led to Hudson becoming a co-founder of Kauae Raro Research Collective in 2019. Together the members delve into and investigate MÃÂori paint and dye methods using earth pigments, often connecting their intentions back to the roots of Indigenous knowledge and using earth pigments 'as an art material, in ceremony and as rongoÃÂ (medicine).'
In addition to creating and exhibiting her own work, in 2020 she was the exhibitions curator for Te KÃ Âputu te whanga a Toi, WhakatÃÂne Museum and Arts.
Other group exhibitions with Hudson's contributions can be found with the Mataaho Collective.
A 55 page piece on interactions between art and mÃÂtauranga by 11 MÃÂori artists during the rise of Matariki in 2020.
Hudson's time in this artist residency was spent in the Broad Bay area of Dunedin for its abundance of earth pigments and paint binders like tree gum and honey. Through her creative process of collection, grinding and mixing of various dyes and paints she prepared work as a result of her residency, but most significantly was able to whakapapa back to her ancestors through the generational practice of rock art. Her completed works were presented in her final exhibition, which when it opened coincided with Hudson's organisation of the first national symposium for MÃÂori earth artists.
In 2025, Hudson was the first artist invited from Aotearoa to complete an artist residency in Naoshima, Japan and present her work in the Setouchi Triennale, a prominent international art festival in Japan opened April 2025. She spent one month on an island of the Seto Inland Sea in Japan, which is known as a place that provides a cultural and contemporary feel for global artists to gather and collaborate, producing work and research inspired by her surroundings in Megijima to exhibit at the Setouchi Triennale. The island is one of many classified as belonging to the Benesse Art Site in Naoshima, with its dedication to the sector described as evident through contemporary art and architecture on display. Jude Chambers, executive director of McCahon House who assisted in evolution of this opportunity, quoted the following regarding Hudson's experience: "Creating a new work and exhibiting in the Setouchi Triennale 2025 will expand and extend her networks and share Aotearoa's unique art and culture with audiences internationally."
The Setouchi Triennale was established in 2010 with the intention of promoting local communities, and environments.Artists were asked to present work in natural environments or abandoned buildings in the area. Hudson named and themed her collection of work Reconciliation and included the following pieces: The Stones Remember and I Listen (watercolour paintings with earth pigments from land she whakapapas to in MoutohorÃÂ, and indigo pigment from the Kagawa prefecture), stone works In my teeth, the DNA of cliffs, and The taste of old stories, used pebbles from Megijima, and a video work called Belonging.
The works she produced were also exhibited in Aotearoa. Belonging I and II along with an AI poem were shown at Kia Mau Festival, Wellington from 2 to 15 June 2025. Furthermore Belonging I and II, five watercolour pieces and photographs of MoutohorÃÂ in collaboration with WhakatÃÂne Museums and Archives, the poem, and new sculptures based on archaeologies of wÃÂhi tapu on MoutohorÃÂ, were all shown at Te KÃ Âputu in WhakatÃÂne from 4 July to 6 September 2025.
Additionally during her time in Japan, Hudson completed a residency at Miki Junior High School, Japan and taught students there about natural dyeing methods.