Princess supports young Māori artist and marine research with public art exhibition

Princess Cruises is supporting young Māori artist, Chelsea Logan-Porter make a splash on the Auckland art scene by sponsoring the colourful painting of a huge whale tale.
Pictured above, Māori artist Chelsea Logan-Porter with her Whale Tale which will feature her original design, ‘Whale Spirit’, with each Whale Tale sculpture  auctioned to raise funds for WWF-New Zealand in its efforts to protect and restore Aotearoa’s marine environment in and around Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf.
Logan-Porter, 22, will design and paint Princess’ Whale Tale sculpture, titled ‘Whale Spirit’. The sculpture is part of a wider art exhibition aiming to raise funds for the protection and restoration of Aotearoa’s marine environment.
Titled Whale Tales and commencing January 24, 2022, the exhibition will see more than 80 Whale Tales – each standing almost a metre tall – designed and decorated by local and indigenous artists before being displayed around Auckland.
It will be the first major artwork sculpture Logan-Porter has exhibited on such a scale.
Logan-Porter said, “My design is inspired by my love of the beautiful bio-luminescent creatures, such as phytoplankton and I wanted to incorporate that into beautiful Māori designs by giving it a look of a whale with glowing markings.”
The event, backed by Auckland Unlimited with monies raised donated to World Wildlife Fund (WWF-NZ), runs for 12 weeks through to April 18, 2022. Visitors are encouraged to seek out each Whale Tale exhibited as part of an interactive public art trail.
The sponsoring of a Whale Tale is part of its popular Princess Local Partnerships program, which sees Princess Cruises’ guests supporting community-based activities that focus on conserving New Zealand’s natural heritage and celebrating its rich culture.
Stuart Allison, Senior Vice President Princess Cruises Asia Pacific said,“Whale Tales and its support for marine conservation is a commitment that exemplifies our love for the sea, which is so central to everything we do as a maritime and seafaring organisation”, adding, “We’re delighted to support Chelsea and get behind this initiative with the assistance of our valued guests.”
At the end of the exhibition, each Whale Tale will be auctioned and the money raised will be donated to WWF-New Zealand to support its efforts to protect and restore Aotearoa’s marine environment, in and around Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf.
Princess Local Partnerships, which is funded by guests, has been sponsoring other conservation activities in New Zealand. In the Bay of Islands, the program has been supporting local conservationists to create healthy populations of Kiwi and other native birds in the Opua State Forest.  It has also involved engaging local children in decorating and placing penguin houses on the shoreside in Waitangi to help protect bird life.
The Princess Local Partnership Program was launched 2019 with a $100,000 donation from Princess and further funded by guests donating $2 via their onboard account.
Edited by John Alwyn-Jones, Cruise Editor.