In the final days of Matt Tini's exhibition of forests and concrete, join us for a discussion with Tini and their Massey University rōpū Te Whiri Whītau about researching and working with harakeke. Members of the rōpū will consider sustainability, relationship building, citational practice, and future and speculative potentials as they pertain to working with te taiao.

Te Whiri Whītau is a research cluster formed by Massey University staff exploring how natural fibres can prompt cultural, environmental, social and economic regeneration. Their research is led by mātauranga and Indigenous knowledge systems.

Matt Tini (Waikato, Ngaati Tiipa, Ngaati Mahuta, Ngāti Rākaipaaka, Ngāti Kahungunu) is an artist and educator who works with photography, moving image and native fibres. Deeply grounded in whakapapa, Māori cosmologies and contemporary lived experiences, Tini’s practice considers what it means to be tangata whenua in relation with and through te taiao. These ever-shifting reflections influence Tini’s material and conceptual curiosities.

He ringatoi, he pouako hoki a Matt Tini (Waikato, Ngaati Tiipa, Ngaati Mahuta, Ngāti Rākaipaaka, Ngāti Kahungunu). Ko tāna he hopu whakaahua, he hanga ata teretere, he mahi hoki i ngā weu māori. He mea honoa ngā mahi a Tini ki ōna whakapapa, ngā tātai tuarangi o te Māori, me ngā wheako o tēnei ao hurihuri. Ka huritao āna mahi i ngā tikanga o te tangata whenuatanga, mā roto i ōna hononga ki te taiao. Kua ahu mai ā Tini urupounamu ā-rawatoi, ā-ariā hoki i ēnei wānanga e hurihuri tonu ana.

Professor Huhana Smith (Ngāti Tukorehe, Te Mateawa, Ngāti Rangitāwhia, Ngāti Kapumanawawhiti ki Kuku) is a climate action researcher, exhibitor and community leader who’s led by mātauranga Māori. The sentiment that success is not individual, but built on the strength of many, reflects Smith’s research kaupapa and ongoing legacy of environmental and cultural repair.

Angela Kilford (Te Whanau A Kai, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungunu) is an artist, designer, educator and researcher living in Te Whanganui A Tara. Her current research practice focuses on how mātauranga Māori and Māori participation can inform textile design practice and research to produce ways to benefit Māori communities and to sustain Papatūānuku.

Faith Kane is a textile and materials design researcher and educator, driven by the belief in the transformative potential of textile and material thinking to shape sustainable futures. Her work is grounded in place-based and transitional approaches that foster innovation, connection, regeneration and meaningful change.

Contact the host of Panel discussion with Te Whiri Whītau