Chris Heaphy

Chris Heaphy was born in 1965 and is of Ngai Tahu and European descent. He graduated from the Ilam School of Fine Arts in Canterbury, New Zealand in 1991 where he studied towards a BFA. In 1998, Heaphy completed a MFA in painting at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia.

Over the years, Heaphy was granted several awards and fellowships, including: the Te Waka Toi Grant (1993), the Olivia Spencer Bower Award (1995), the Research Grant Residency, the RMIT University (1998), the Creative New Zealand Grant (1999), and the Veuve Cliquot Ponsardin Residency, Champagne, France (2000–2001).