Skip Content
whirikoka tauira

A group of first-time museum exhibitors from Whirikoka will see their exhibition nominated at the Aotearoa Museum Awards.

Tauira from the Kāwai Raupapa Level 4 and Toi Paematua Level 5 programmes had their works featured at the recent Kete Puāwai - Basket of Evolution exhibition at the Tairāwhiti Museum.

Their exhibition was a display of their contemporary work including kākahu, whāriki and kete that stood alongside the museum’s collections of taonga.

Kete Puāwai Basket of Evolution was so well-received that it is now nominated in the Exhibition Excellence - Taonga Māori category in the 2018 New Zealand Museum Awards.

Erin Rauna, Whirikoka kaiako for Kāwai Raupapa and Toi Paematua, said her tauira were thrilled that the recognition of their exhibition would feature at the awards, which will be held in Christchurch on May 20.

They were also honoured to work alongside museum staff who allowed them to view the collection of taonga before inviting them to exhibit.

“We were very fortunate that we were contacted and invited into the museum to view taonga in the archives. From that visit our tauira created their own pieces incorporating elements inspired by these beautiful taonga,” said Erin.

“We were then able to exhibit alongside these taonga, which was an absolute privilege in doing this.”

The exhibition was divided in to three sections.

Taonga displayed in He Kura Ranga Wairua section were selected from the museum collection by the tauira as those that had most inspired their mahi.

In Toimatapu each tauira kairaranga presented their toi alongside a biography and text explaining their raranga journey.

And Rukutia te rau o Hunā focused on weaving materials, functions and tools and included muka and harakeke samples that manuhiri could touch.

 Back to news & events

Published On:

Article By:



Other Articles

  • 27 March 2025

    A whakairo journey shaped by art and community

    Murray ‘Muzz’ Green (Te Kanawa, Ngāti Maniapoto, Whatakaraka, Ngāti Mahuta, Ngāti Te Kiriwai, Ngāti Tuwharetoa, Ngāti Rangitihi, Ngāti Ngutū, Whānau-a-Apanui and Ngāti Porou) left school at 15 when he realised conventional education wasn’t for him.

  • 20 March 2025

    Nāwai i tauira, kua kaiako

    Ahakoa he rerekē noa atu te ao i tipu ake ai a Rob Bromley i tāna e mōhio nei i tēnei rā, nō te ohinga ake, ka rongo ia i tētahi hao ki te reo Māori.

  • 10 March 2025

    Te Wānanga o Aotearoa recognised as leader in Māori HR

    Te Wānanga o Aotearoa was awarded the prestigious Mana Tangata Award at the 2025 NZ HR Excellence Awards on Thursday 27 February in Tāmaki Makaurau.

  • 06 March 2025

    A kaiako who built more than a course

    When Peter Waaka arrived in Queenstown many years ago, with a career spanning government work, hotel management, and Māori development teaching wasn’t on his radar. But life has a way of leading us in unexpected directions, and for Peter, that was helping tauira turn their business ideas into reality.