Cassandra Barnett is an author and artist of Raukawa, Ngāti Huri and Pākehā descent who writes poetry, essays and short fiction about cultural and ecological futures. Her work is published in many journals and anthologies of creative writing and art criticism, and she has appeared at many art and literary events and festivals both in Aotearoa and abroad. Cassandra has a PhD in art writing and philosophy from the University of Auckland and a Master’s in creative writing from Victoria University of Wellington. She worked as an art theorist and lecturer from 2003 to 2018, at institutions including Wintec, Hamilton; Unitec (including the Awatoru programme), Auckland; and Massey University, Wellington. She is a founding member of the Wellington-based publishing collective Taraheke, and in 2022 she was the Auckland Regional Parks Artist in Residence at Anawhata. In 2023 Cassandra relocated to her home rohe of Waikato, where she is now co-editing a book of the whenua stories of her South Waikato hapū. She is a trustee for Matariki ki Waikato and is currently a pouako (educator) at Te Whare Taonga o Waikato Waikato Museum.
