Pohewa Pāhewa is a series of exhibitions and events considering design within te ao Māori. Grounded in whakapapa, the kaupapa explores the fundamental differences in how design practice is approached by Māori creatives as a balance of vital mātauranga and radical innovation for the benefit of whānau, hapū and iwi.

This year, in the second exhibition, we focus on areas where creative thinking is sparked, nurtured and deliberated. Four spaces conceptually important in te ao Māori – the marae, the kura (school), the kāinga (home), the whare taputapu (tool shed) – are interpreted and rendered as immersive environments. Situated within four rooms, the installations articulate the constraints that Māori design practice often sits within, and the boundaries that continue to be pushed and tested by discipline pioneers.

The central exhibition is supported by two further projects. Video interviews with designers are presented in Chartwell Gallery and form part of a growing archive of whakaaro for Pohewa Pāhewa. In the foyer a collection of record covers are brought together to illustrate the breadth of graphic design approaches that underlie Māori music histories. These reflect a nuanced understanding of the knowledge systems that influence how practitioners convey visual representations of Māori identity. 

Pohewa Pāhewa is a kaupapa that brings together Māori designers to celebrate the different ways in which they see themselves and their worlds. Joyful expressions of creative practice, dually steeped in tikanga and reflecting how contemporary innovation can be spun into new traditions.

The exhibition title was proposed by Pena Makoare in 2023 as a provocation for debate and discussion. It pairs two kupu that speak to the tension of the design process: ‘pohewa’ in relation to imagination; ‘pāhewa’ in relation to being mistaken or deluded. The combination of these kupu is an opportunity for us to consider how ideas become something remarkable, and how good design can transform ideas from imagination into reality.

Pohewa Pāhewa includes contributions from:

Tā Haare Williams
Kaan Hiini
Lucy Tukua
Hori-Te-Ariki Mataki
Whare Timu
David Hakaraia
Elisapeta Heta
Raukura Turei
Kereama Taepa
Wayne Youle
Seb Charles
Pepi-Joy Gilgen
+ collaborators

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Pohewa Pāhewa: Te Rūma is supported by Build Partner BLACK Interiors + Construction and Exhibition Patron The Purple Gift.

Product Partners: Nodi and Inzide.