Manurewa – Dr Shortland Cooper
Posted on October 16, 2011 by admin in Mana Candidate ProfilesDr Richard Shortland Cooper
- Contact – 021 596 630
Dr Shortland Cooper is of Ngati Hine, Nga Puhi and Pacific heritage. He comes from a big family of 10 siblings, 37 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren. He is married to Rula Ormsby (for 28 years) they have 5 children and 2 mokopuna.
Dr Cooper has a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Master of Fine Arts (1st class honours) and Doctor of Fine Arts, University of Auckland.
He spent 5 years as the Head of Art Department at Te Wananga O Aotearoa Manukau Campus until they went through a restructuring where he was made redundant. He then made a career change into Health where he has been working for the past 5 years at the Counties Manukau District Health Board helping our people self-manage their chronic illnesses like diabetes gout and heart disease. He has run workshops on 8 different marae around Manukau, different community, churches and individual home visits.
He teaches Art part time in the Wananga and continues to practise his Art making nationally and internationally. He has many large public sculptures throughout Manukau like Manukau City Millennial sculpture on the busy crossroads opposite Rainbows End that symbolises the importance of our Whanau.
In his major Millennial sculpture He Taonga Hiranga Whakanui Whanau Richard involved the community by incorporating into the work designs made by students from neighbouring colleges. Richard also included the hand prints of successive generations of his own family in the sculpture. Over 11 metres tall the work consists of five separate structures grouped together. ‘The Family’, which it is commonly referred to, has become an icon of Manukau City winning a prestigious Creative New Zealand Award in 2001.
He is currently on the Pakuranga Art Society Trust Board and the Otara Diabetes Trust Board. He is an active member of the LDS Church and serves as a member of the High Council for the Manurewa Stake.
Over the past 5 years he has worked with many of our people living in Manurewa, Mangere, Papakura, Pukekohe, Waiuku, Tuakau, Port Waikato and Mangatangi.
In support of all the policies for Mana- Health, Education and our Rangatahi will be 3 areas of priority that he will focus on. Dr Cooper’s Art Tutor Buck Nin and Dr Rongo Wetere, Tumuaki of Te Wananga O Aotearoa always encouraged that in whatever we do we give it our best, to make a difference and help make our society a better place.
