The New Zealand MÃÂori Arts and Crafts Institute (NZMACI) is an indigenous traditional art school located in Rotorua, New Zealand. It operates the national schools of three major MÃÂori art forms.
NZMACI opened in 1963 as a successor school to the previous national school for woodcarving (wÃÂnanga whakairo) in Rotorua, New Zealand. The original Institute had been established in 1926 by Sir ÃÂpirana Ngata to combat the impending threat of the loss of traditional MÃÂori arts. The new school continued the tradition in a location well-established for traditional MÃÂori arts and crafts. The location of the schools at Whakarewarewa enabled access to the Rotorua tourist market, which has allowed the Institute to operate with financial independence for the majority of its history. The school is associated with tours which have been guided through the Whakarewarewa Valley since the mid-19th century, now under the umbrella of Te Puia.
The New Zealand School of MÃÂori Arts and Crafts (Te Ao Marama) was founded in 1926 by ÃÂpirana Ngata, then the Member of Parliament for Eastern Maori which included Rotorua. The school focused on teaching traditional MÃÂori arts and crafts. Ngata believed that arts was vital to the rejuvenation of MÃÂori culture. He imbedded into the training an orthodoxy that privileged certain patterns and excluded others. The school was located near the geyser field at Whakarewarewa outside of Rotorua. The original school closed as a result of the second world war.
The Rotorua Maori Arts and Crafts Institute Act 1963 founded the school as a legal entity, and the act was amended by the New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute Amendment Act 1967 which changed it from a local to a national institute, by removing most references to Rotorua. Since the spelling of Maori has changed to MÃÂori as part of an effort to make the MÃÂori language phonetic.
Since the MÃÂori Renaissance of the 1980s and 1990s, MÃÂori traditions have had more impact on contemporary art in New Zealand, leading to a blurring of the lines between art, fine arts and MÃÂori art. The Institute exhibits at events such as MÃÂori Art Market but its teaching and output continue to focus on more traditional items.
The Institute can be visited through Te Puia, a significant tourist attraction in Rotorua, Aotearoa.
A predominant artform of the MÃÂori people is whakairo, carving, referred to by some as the written language of the MÃÂori.
The national wood carving school, Te WÃÂnanga Whakairo RÃÂkau o Aotearoa, was opened in 1967 and has since restored and built over 40 whare whakairo around New Zealand. The first Tumu (head) of the carving school was the late renowned Tohunga Whakairo (Master Carver), Hone Taiapa.
Long a part of the Te WÃÂnanga Whakairo RÃÂkau (carving school), the traditional adornment and toolmaking arts were moved to a dedicated school headed by artist Lewis Tamihana Gardiner and initially specialised in pounamu. The new national school for Jade, Bone & Stone Carving was named as Te Takapà « o Rotowhio by local rangatira and kura whakairo graduate, Mauriora Kingi.
The school is now headed by Stacy Gordine, a master carver or tà Âhunga whakairo of NgÃÂti Porou descent.
Traditional MÃÂori textiles and weaving was an artform taught at the Institute, often referred to in the MÃÂori language as raranga.
The weaving school named Te Whare Raranga was established in 1967 by the head of the school (Te Tumu Raranga) Emily Schuster. It was renamed Te Rito in 1988. Schuster stayed as the head until the mid 1990s and stayed on in a Cultural Advisor until her death in 1997.
Schuster was succeeded by her daughters Dawn Smith and Edna Pahewa. Pahewa held the role for 18 years. The third and current Tumu is master weaver Meleta Bennett who was mentored by Pahewa.
The founding of the schools was part of the reassurance of whakairo and raranga and many of the alumni of the schools went on to play roles in the MÃÂori renaissance.
Over 40 marae have been built or restored under the auspices of NZMACI, and countless more by graduates. The first cohort began with artwork for local businesses before moving on to restoration and replacement of carvings on MÃÂori churches and meeting houses.
The Institute was responsible for carving the MÃÂhau stage used for the worldâÂÂs largest MÃÂori cultural festival, Te Matatini. Made from over 26 tonnes of native wood, 5 tonnes of steel and 36 tonnes of concrete it is the largest MÃÂori carved structure in existence at 30m across and over 13m high. More than 20 of the staff and students at NZMACI worked a total of over 15,000 hours to complete. The symbols used are relevant to the history of performing arts in Aotearoa. Te MÃÂhau was debuted in 2012.
An international commemoration of war dead located at Passchendaele Memorial Park in Zonnebeke, Belgium, the Pou Maumahara is an 8-metre, 17 tonne woodcarving which was carved from a kauri log at NZMACI. The project was driven by Belgian architect Freddy DeClerck. The Pou Maumahara was designed by Tumu Whakarae Clive Fugill and carved under the leadership of Tumu Whakairo James Rickard by the staff and students of Te WÃÂnanga Whakairo o Aotearoa. The process took more than four years and the pou was unveiled on ANZAC day 2019.
Te Ahi Tupua was constructed from a design created by Tà Âhunga Whakairo and Tumu, Te Takapà « o Rotowhio, Stacy Gordine and digitised by academics from Victoria University of Wellington. The massive sculpture uses traditional MÃÂori visual language to tell the story of NgÃÂtoro-i-rangi, in relation to the landmarks of the area. NgÃÂtoro-i-rangi, a founding ancestor of the region, is the navigator said to have guided (under duress) the voyaging canoe Te Arawa to Aotearoa. He is traditionally associated with the geothermal activity in the area.
Te Ahi Tupua stands at 12m high and is the tallest sculpture of its kind and a world first in its 3D printed composite construction.
Te Ahi Tupua was commissioned as a small part of a $7.6 million restructuring of the Hemo Gorge roundabout near the location of the Institute. The project was jointly funded by NZTA under their policy of creating art alongside new road works with further support by the Rotorua District Council.
Te Ahi Tupua, along with Pà Âhutu Geyser and the districtâÂÂs lakes now forms the basis for the emblem of the city and district of Rotorua.
Reanga or intakes are cohorts of 1-4 students selected from a pool of applicants to learn MÃÂori Arts and Crafts on a modest scholarship traditionally funded by tourism. Because the aim of the Institute is revival of the culture within communities, applicants are expected to be MÃÂori practitioners of traditional arts, with the strongest applications coming with iwi-tono or tribal support. Graduates are expected to serve their tribes and communities.
List of graduates: Graduate name (School, Nth intake)
Each of the schools is headed by an expert in their traditional artform, titled Tumu. Cohorts of 1-4 students are selected from a pool of applicants to learn from the Tumu and their Pouako (tutors).
List of Tumu: (year-year) Tumu name
Historically the minister responsible for tourism or an Associate Minister of Tourism made appointments to the NZMACI governing board. Board members have included Robert McFarlane, Ani Waaka, David Thomas, Sir Howard Morrison, Dr Erihapeti Rehu-Murchie, June Grant, Judith Stanway, Ray Watson, Erenora Puketapu-Hetet, Mike Simm, David Tapsell Ken Raureti, Robyn Bargh and Tupara Morrison.
Governance has been altered as a result of the Tiriti o Waitangi settlement negotiations between the NZ government and local iwi. As part of the NZMACI Vesting Act (2020), the local iwi: Tuhourangi, NgÃÂti WÃÂhiao and NgÃÂti Whakaue will be recognised as traditional and as legal owners of Te Puia and associated assets and will have official representation on the board.