Samoa's Yuki Kihara is to be the first Pasifika artist to represent New Zealand at the world's most prestigious art show.
Yuki Kihara Photo: Scott Lowe
But she said showing at the Venice Biennale in 2021 would not change her Samoan world view.
Her work has featured in galleries around the world including a solo show at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2008.
New Zealand is contributing over $US500,000 towards Yuki Kihara's participation at the next Biennale which runs for six months from May every two years.
Kihara hints at her mixed Samoan-Japanese heritage and fa'afafine perspective influencing her work at Venice.
"What I can bring to the New Zealand Pavilion, or maybe perhaps to the Venice Biennale, is to open up a conversation about what constitutes inclusion and diversity.
"I just hope that that is something that can come across in my presentation at the 2021 Venice Biennale."
