The University of Auckland celebrates Matariki 
(Architecture and Planning, Fine Arts)
5 June 2011
1pm - 3.30pm
Venue: Engineering Glass Box, Eng 1439, 20 Symonds Street, Auckland City
Cost: Free admission, registration required
Professor Jonathan Mane-Wheoki and Dr Deidre Brown are celebrated academics from The University of Auckland’s National Institute of Creative Arts and Industries.
1-2pm - I Te Timatanga: The Foundations of Contemporary Māori Art
Professor Jonathan Mane-Wheoki (Ngāpuhi, Te Aupouri, Ngāti Kuri), Head of Elam School of Fine Arts, The University of Auckland.
Professor Mane-Wheoki formerly worked as Senior Lecturer in Art History and Dean of Music and Fine Arts at the University of Canterbury, and then as Director of Art and Collection Services at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. He is an art historian, architectural historian, cultural historian and curator. While he has produced professional work encompassing many disciplines, he is especially noted as a pioneer in the development of contemporary Māori and Pacific art and art history. A strong advocate for the Humanities and the creative arts as well as Māori knowledge and education, Jonathan has served on a wide range of national and international bodies, including the Arts Council of Creative New Zealand, the Humanities Panel and Council of the Marsden Fund, and the Advisory Council of the (Renzo Piano-designed) Centre Culturel Tjibaou in Noumea.
This lecture considers the roles played by pioneering Māori artists who first engaged with international modernism and positions them as foundational figures in today’s dynamic contemporary art movement.
2-2.30pm - Intermission - Afternoon Tea
2.30-3.30pm - Matariki Rising: Designing for New Stars and Big Ideas
Dr Deidre Brown (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahu), Senior Lecturer at the School of Architecture and Planning, The University of Auckland.
Dr Brown is a Māori art and architectural historian. Her published works include Māori Architecture: From fale to wharenui and beyond (2009, Illustrated Non-Fiction finalist at the 2010 NZ Post Book awards); Tai Tokerau Whakairo Rākau: Northland Māori Wood Carving (2003, winner of the Best First Book Award, Non-Fiction at the 2004 Montana New Zealand Book Awards), Introducing Māori Art (2005), Māori Arts of the Gods (2005) and Te Puna: Māori Art from Te Tai Tokerau Northland (2007, co-edited with Ngarino Ellis).
The rising of Matariki (the Pleiades) heralds the beginning of a new horticultural cycle and has been celebrated by Māori as a time of renewal. For the past ten years, it has also been promoted as the ‘Māori New Year’ to all New Zealanders for the purpose of providing an entrée into Māori culture through participation in a wide range of observances and activities. It is an aspect of indigenous heritage that is being freely shared. This talk will look at the practice of sharing culture from a design perspective. We live in a world where the sharing images and ideas are commonplace in daily life, thanks to the internet, and increasingly identified with democratic principles. But for Māori, like many other indigenous people, there are some aspects of culture and cultural practice that are not so easily shared for a variety of reasons. How does this impact on the way that Māori words and images are used in commercial and celebratory contexts? How are designers practically reconciling the expectations of two cultures? Is there/should there be a boundary between freedom of expression and inappropriate use?
This event is part of Matariki Festival 2011, which includes dozens of special events and activities being organised across Tamaki Makaurau from 4 June to 4 July to celebrate the Māori New Year.
Visit Matariki Festival 2011 website
Venue and Parking Map
