Esther Stone (Ngāti Porou) is an early career artist in Tāmaki Makaurau who holds a Master of Fine Arts from Whitecliffe College of Art and Design (2024). Her practice explores the language and processes of traditional Māori weaving specialising in taniko. By collecting stories and knowledge from her hapu and whanau, her work is bonded to whenua and whakapapa, navigating the space that traditional practices occupy today's modern world.  

Stone’s work was featured in "Hoa Haere I te Ao" as part of the Emerging Artists sector at the Aotearoa Art Fair 2025, curated by Becky Hemus. The presentation featured works by artists of Māori descent, each contributing pieces made to be worn. These are forms of toi kept across generations (taonga tuku iho) lived-in objects made to protect, to amplify, and to be passed on. Stone was also featured in WANA 2025 - an exhibition curated by Chantel Matthews at Grey Place. Works by twelve artists explored the "rise of the human spirit" through concepts of ira tangata (human) or ira atua (superhuman) and what the human spirit of tomorrow would look like.