Tainui children create art for display in Te Papa

27 August 2011

Students from Te Wharekura o te Kaokaoroa o Pātetere in Putāruru have been working hard to produce stunning artworks to be displayed in Te Papa from Saturday 3rd September until June 2012.

Te Papa staff members Chrissie Locke and Khali Philip-Barbara will be travelling to Pūtaruru to view and pack the finished artworks, then transport them back to Te Papa.

Media are invited to visit the school to help celebrate the tremendous work that they have put in to their artwork. The visit will be on the following date:

Te Wharekura o te Kaokaoroa o Pātetere, Putāruru: Monday 31st August 12.30-1.30pm

For their artwork the children used the kura logo, motto and themes of manaakitanga, whanaungatanga, ngakau pono, tikanga and te reo. They also used well-known stories of their rohe such as how Raukawa got his name, the story of Mahinarangi and Turongo and one recent story of how their wharenui got its name ‘Kotukutuku o Kaimai’. The tamariki also studied the work of contemporary Māori artists such as glitter artist Reuben Paterson.

Art teacher, April Silveira, says the students at Te Wharekura o te Kaokaoroa o Pātetere had great fun and excitement creating their art and hope everyone enjoys it.

This project will be exhibited in Te Huka ā Tai Discovery Centre, which is a fun bright interactive area specifically aimed at assisting 7 – 12 year olds explore aspects of Te Ao Māori (the world of Māori).

The Wharekura was invited to participate in the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa’s Iwi Art in Schools project. This project is run by Te Papa’s Discovery Centre staff. The selection of schools is dependent on which iwi/tribe is in residence at the time, and is often selected by members of that particular Iwi. Tainui will be the next iwi in residence at Te Papa with their exhibition Tai timu, tai pari, Tainui: Journey of a people showing on Level 4 from Saturday 3rd September 2011.

For further information, please contact:

Chrissie Locke, Supervisor Te Huka ā Tai Discovery Centre
+64 4 381 7015
+64 27 3049830
ChrissieL@tepapa.govt.nz

Phil McGrath, Communications Manager
+64 4 381 7083
+64 29 601 0180
Phil.McGrath@tepapa.govt.nz