Creative ID: 649
Auckland/Waikato
My arts or creative practice (including details about my specific focus within that art form/practice and my strengths)
Within the area of the arts, Te Ao Māori is my main focus and background. Traditional Māori whakairo/carving is my foundation. From this, I have had many experiences in creating artworks from different mediums and techniques such as computer graphics, laser cutting, 3D printing, landscape designs, and resin pouring.
Through these experiences I have been able to combine traditional ideas with contemporary methods and vice versa. I do this through my everyday employment along with the creation of traditional pieces from wood, bone and stone. Although Te Ao Māori is my foundation, I have no issues with being involved in other projects that encompass backgrounds of a different culture. It is through these encounters that further my abilities when creating mahi toi.
My track record of experience and success - or the track record of experience and success of the creative or artist that I will partner with
I am currently employed at a mana whenua mandated entity as a kaiwhakairo/mahi toi. My position as a kaiwhakairo/mahi toi, as well as within a team, is to create artworks that retain kōrero/oral history of our people within places that are areas of significant to our hapū. These are usually commissioned by Auckland Council as well as private building developers.
Some of the projects that I have been involved with include:
- Te Ngau o Horotiu – ferry terminal
- Te Aka Matauranga – 3D Printed Pou, Manukau Institute of Technology
- Kaitiaki pare – bus terminal
- Puehu pattern, Auckland
- Ngā kaihoe me te waka ō Taikehu – Southern Corridor Improvements, Waka Kotahi/NZ Transport
- Wetland design –storm water treatment
- Pou arrangement – an intermediate school.
Between projects, I like to create taonga/wearable pieces that I sell online. Usually made from wood, bone, or stone. I also make 21st keys to anniversary items and trophies, made traditionally or contemporary.
Describe the experience you have had working with children or young people, teaching or facilitating creative processes
We currently have a range of staff that have experience working with people of all ages. We run programmes within local schools to support better student engagement within schools and this is done so and integrated across all curriculum areas. We have hosted various hui with rangatahi from educational sectors to collect voice to enable programmes that engage the audiences. We have successfully run team building activities with a wide group of schools on different occasions and recently invited a large group of schools into our space and conducted workshops as well as ice breaker activities.
Within our Waka Hui arm, we currently offer raranga and korowai classes with our participants across all ages. These classes require hands-on teaching, which at times for the learner can become quite frustrating. Our kaiako have the skills and strategies to enable personal success in all realms that we deliver. Whakairo projects have been completed within schools across year groups and we have worked collaboratively with our audiences from design to completion of the piece of creative art.
Why I want to be part of the Creatives in Schools programme and how my involvement will link to my creative practice
We are a mana whenua mandated entity who are situated within a large geographical tribal area. It is of extreme importance, that we as mana whenua are engaging with our schools and guiding them. Simply because, we have the mana of the whenua. If there is a need for schools outside of our tribal area, we commit to have conversations with their mana whenua to seek their approval for us to work with schools in their tribal area.
We have recently launched our strategic plan for education to schools within and across our tribal area. Included in this PATH was a plan of how this can look in an educational setting. When gaining and collating voice from our schools to create our PATH for education, we found that most schools who participated wanted support from us that aligns to this; Creative in Schools' Programme.
We encourage the schools within our area to seek guidance from mana whenua for many things, particularly Māori. Many conversations have begun with different schools who would like to display our taonga in their schools, e.g., Pou, Waharoa. As mana whenua, it is our desire to be noticed, seen, and valued in all our schools and to work collaboratively for the betterment of our whānau, hāpori, and iwi.