Toi whakairo (art carving) or just whakairo (carving) is a Māori traditional art of carving in wood, stone or bone. Wood was formed into houses, fencepoles, containers, taiaha and tool handles. Stone, preferably the very hard pounamu (greenstone), was the chief material for tools of many kinds. Bone was used for fish hooks, needles etc. Following the introduction of metal tools there was a substantial increase in decorative ornamentation, particularly in wood and bone carving.

The Māori Arts and Crafts Institute at Whakarewarewa in Rotorua is a stronghold of traditional carving skills.Hone Taiapa was head of this school for some time. Since the Māori Renaissance there has been a resurgence of interest in whakairo, alongside other traditional Māori practices, with a much greater integration with mainstream contemporary art. The Māori Art Market (funded by the state-sponsored Toi Māori Aotearoa) is a significant venue for the promotion and sale of whakairo.

Many carvers express their practices in explicitly spiritual terms.

Whirimako Black (born c. 1961) is a New Zealand Māori recording artist

Whirimako sings mostly in Te Reo Māori, uses traditional Māori musical forms and collaborates with traditional Taonga pūoro instruments.

Her musical achievements include composing and singing the titles for the acclaimed Television New Zealand series, 'The New Zealand Wars', as well as composing with Hori Tait the initial title music for the Māori news programme, Te Karere. In 1991, she formed the female Māori band Tuahine Whakairo but left in 1993, to start a solo career.

Born in Whakatane, Whirimako is of Ngāti Tuhoe, Ngāti Tuwharetoa, Ngāti Ranginui, Kahungunu, Te Whakatohea, Te Whanau-a-Apanui, Te Arawa, and Ngāti Awa descent.

Whirimako Black bears a striking traditional Maori female tattoo, or Ta Moko on her face, a cultural symbol of pride and beauty.

She was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2006 New Year Honours.