New interactive art piece for Whanganui museum combines traditional Māori art and modern interactivity

Marty Vreede, one of the creators of the new interactive arapaki panel outside of the Whanganui Regional Museum, explaining the process behind the piece's creation. Photo / Bevan Conley

The creators of a new interactive artwork outside the Whanganui Regional Museum wanted to capture the spirit of a traditional Māori art form for the community to enjoy.

The piece, created by Marty and Marilyn Vreede of Pakohe Whanganui, is a large interactive arapaki board. Also known as tukutuku outside Whanganui, arapaki is a type of ornamental weaving using crossed reed latticework rather than threads to form patterns on horizontal wooden laths.

Arapaki is usually used to adorn the walls of a wharenui, and an example of a traditional piece of arapaki can be found in the Whanganui District Library.

The work outside the museum was made of a large pegboard with plastic crosses, which can be pushed into the holes with a rubber stopper, in only the colours that would be traditionally used in arapaki.

Below the pegboard, there is an explanation of the origins and creation process of traditional arapaki as well as visual examples of arapaki designs from the Whanganui area including poutama (stairway to heaven), purapurawhetū (star seeds) and pātiki (flounder).

Marty Vreede said the original design for the piece was by modelmaker Alex Falkner.

From Falkner's design Vreede wanted to create an interactive piece that captured the spirit of arapaki, but in a less time-consuming method, for the public to enjoy.

"The arapaki panel, it's very calm and beautiful on the front, and there's a whole lot of work that goes into the back of a traditional one that ties everything together ... and it requires a lot of skill and attention," Vreede said.

The solution Vreede found was to place the holes in the pegboard in the centre of the plastic crosses so the pattern traditionally formed with crossed reeds would be retained in an easier-to-create fashion.

"Once Alex and I figured that out, it became so much easier to have that as the finished product and to actually build it."

Gavin Brooks, who performed a blessing of the arapaki board on Tuesday, said it was an effective intersection between traditional Māori art and modern materials.

"I think it holds the values of the teaching from an art form of history and bringing it into the 21st century."

Brooks was pleased the piece encouraged creativity and play, for the young and young at heart.

"It's a means and a medium which not only our tamariki and our mokopuna can use, but it also holds an interest with adults," he said.

Whanganui Mayor Hamish McDouall said the piece was originally planned to be placed on Victoria Ave, but it had found a good place next to the museum and was another enhancement for the central city.

"It'll be one of those spots for kids coming to the museum but also it's a lovely thing for people [to get] tactile and creative," he said.

The Whanganui District Council had supported the creation of the piece, and appreciated the funding given to the project by Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency.

Vreede said he hoped the piece would be the first of many interactive pieces added to the area around the museum and the Veterans Steps in the future.

"People from Whanganui, but also our manuhiri that come in, can actually see a little bit of culture and complexity and vibrancy of what Whanganui is as a place."