Ko wai tō tūrangawaewae?
Jean McGreal discovered her passion for art at an early age, beginning lessons with a nun named Sister Ligouri in Auckland at the age of nine.
After leaving Elam School of Art, Loomis was invited to teach art in the Catholic schools in Apia, Samoa, presenting an opportunity to experience Polynesian culture first-hand. Returning to New Zealand two years later, she held several exhibitions exploring Auckland’s volcanic landscape and Auckland’s west coast.
In 1967 Loomis travelled to the US where she became involved in a community development project called 5th City on Chicago’s West Side. Working with black community members, she designed and executed a three-story mural and a sculpture called the Iron Man which still stands as a symbol of people overcoming past inequities and shaping their future.
Loomis returned to New Zealand in 1976 and began a distinguished secondary art teaching career, serving on the national art marking panel for several years. While teaching, she held several major exhibitions exploring the environments, histories and issues impacting the communities where she lived.