One of the brightest murals (Aroha Mauri Whenua) wraps around the St John shop on Broadway. Photo / The Treehouse Creative
One of the brightest murals (Aroha Mauri Whenua) wraps around the St John shop on Broadway. Photo / The Treehouse Creative
A project aiming to boost the visibility of te reo Māori and brighten up Kaikohe's main street is boosting pride in the Mid North town.
Kaikohe design studio Ākau has been working with local taitamariki (youth) to create a series of super-sized murals featuring kupu Māori (Māori words) inspired by whakataukī (proverbs).
So far three buildings have been transformed, with one in progress and three more to come.
It's impossible to miss the results as you drive up Broadway — the kupu wrap around buildings in bold colours up to two storeys high.
Symphony Morunga, front, and Tukaha Milne work on super-sized kupu (words) as part of Akau's Te Reo Māori on the Streets project. Photo / The Treehouse Creative
Ākau co-founder Ana Heremaia said the project, called Te Reo Māori on the Streets, was inspired by feedback from tamariki that they wanted their main street upgraded. They also wanted more colour and they wanted to see te reo everywhere.
''So the challenge was to see how we could make te reo Māori more visible in Kaikohe and bring more colour to the streetscape, while supporting all the other amazing te reo initiatives in the town.''
Ākau's philosophy was to always involve tamariki in the design process.
In the first phase of the project, children from Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Kaikohe picked whakataukī that resonated with them, explored their meaning, and distilled their essence into a few words.
Part of a mural (Aroha) wraps around the first floor at the front of the St John shop on Broadway. Photo / Peter de Graaf
They then worked with designers to come up with colours, typography and placement.
The Ākau crew painted the first murals themselves but now leave that to the professionals ''who do it faster and know all the tricks''.
They had great support from Kaikohe Colour Centre, which donated paint or provided it at cost, and also had help from NorthTec painting students until the course was closed down.
A second phase was currently under way with children from Kaikohe East, Kaikohe West and Kaikohe Intermediate schools.
The text on the Ngāti Hine Health Trust building calls on people to Āwhina Mahia kia Rangatira (‘Do that which will help others become like chiefs'). Photo / Peter de Graaf
Perhaps the most striking mural adorns the St John shop with the words 'Aroha Mauri Whenua' (love life-force land) in a stylised font you have to squint at for a moment before the letters appear.
Others exhort townsfolk to Whakamana Reo Rangatira (which can be translated as 'Respect the chiefly language') or to Āwhina Mahia Kia Rangatira ('Do that which will help others become like chiefs').
This mural encourages Northlanders to Whakamana Reo Rangatira ('Lift up the chiefly language'). Photo / Peter de Graaf
Ākau kaimahi (worker) Gwena Gilbert said they had received great feedback from te reo learners.
''They've said how amazing it is to see this in the town while they are re-learning their language.''
Kaimahi Mere Taylor-Tuiloma said she felt proud when she drove down the street and saw the kupu.
''All the words that go up are very positive and mana enhancing. It's also an encouragement for those who have no understanding of te reo to start a journey of learning for themselves,'' she said.
''It was the desire of our young people who wanted something colourful to uplift the town and more te reo on the street. There is always room for more brightness. There is always room for more light.''
Symphony Morunga paints a super-sized kupu (word) as part of Ākau's Te Reo Māori on the Streets project. Photo / The Treehouse Creative
Heremaia said taitamariki involved in the project had also created a waiata (song) by weaving together the meanings of the words. That would be recorded and would go out to the world at some point.
