Cotswold School
Region: Canterbury/Chatham Islands
Art form: Visual Arts
Project name: Cotswold Mātāhae - The story of our narrative
Creative name: Morgan Matthews-Hale
Project Information:
Cotswold School has recently been gifted a Taonga in the form of a new Kura name of Mātāhae. We are currently commencing a journey as a Kura to educate our tamariki and whānau about the significance of our new name and cultural narrative. We have aspirations for students to play a role in weaving this cultural narrative into their school environment, creating a place they feel is their own and a welcoming culture by crafting murals that tell our story.
The ākonga will work with Morgan to create artworks and murals in the Kura environment, drawing on the abundance of local community resources at our doorstep (Willowbank, Styx Mill Reserve, Papanui Forest etc) and foster relationships with places and people. In the depth of the project we aim to investigate our local area and the significance it has for our kura and community and how it has influenced our narrative. Ākonga will develop a stronger sense of belonging as they look at their local community with a bi-cultural lens and in turn create a series of painted murals that will be produced by the ākonga and kaiako and will benefit the school’s surrounding environment.
Our school is located in the Styx Mill area of Ōtautahi and we intend to research this local resource and investigate the native species, particularly birds that have established their habitat there. We will integrate their findings into these painted murals; all of which are aspects of our new school logo and cultural narrative. We will involve whānau on the trip to the Styx Mill Reserve where we will draw and photograph the native species and flora/ fauna. Across the school, kaiako and ākonga will learn about art techniques, including stencil cutting, observational drawing, technical drawing, paint mediums, how to use complementary colours (colour wheel) and how to enlarge using ratios in a meaningful way through the lens of a bi-cultural focus. These murals/ artworks will be displayed around the school environment and tell the story of our cultural narrative for students/school families to reflect on each and every day.
Project starting: February 2023
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