Te Tārai Rangatira Collective is a group of year 13 whakairo students from Ōtāhuhu College who have been carving for the last three years.
It's a group seeking to forge leaders through the traditional art form of whakairo, ensuring the continuity and growth of whakairo while developing leadership in the process.
Through the practice of whakairo stories, knowledge and wisdom from te ao Māori are passed on and sustained.
The students will be showcasing their mahi at the Mānegere Arts Centre from August 17.
Re: News journalist Te Ahipourewa Forbes spoke to students from Ōtāhuhu College in the lead-up to their exhibition.
Freddie Tuakalau (Tonga)
What’s your favourite thing about whakairo?
Seeing the end result, the final product and the processes throughout the carvings.
It’s good when I’m carving because I gain knowledge about my culture.
My brother, an ex-student at Ōtāhuhu College, told me to join this class, I didn’t really expect anything and I’ve enjoyed it ever since and I’m really passionate about it.
Benjamin Hepi (Ngāpuhi)
Why did you get into whakairo?
I got into whakairo because this is the only place I feel safe.
Whakairo has helped with my schoolwork and my attendance.
I think it's a safe space for me and all the other students. When I come here I’m comfortable in my own space because I don't really like talking to people.
Before I came here I was supposed to drop out but ever since being in this space it’s helped me grow as a person and connect to my whakapapa.
Savannah Miria Wilson (Tainui, Ngāpuhi)
What is something about whakairo that people don't know?
Whakairo is not just woodwork, there's also a technology side of it using perspex and materials and a laser cutter.
I start on an iPad drawing the design and then send it through to the laptop and it goes through a laser cutter.
The bigger the design the longer it takes to draw on the iPad.
My whānau think it's cool that I am expressing my culture in different ways, not just through kapa haka.
The end goal is to sell them and make money and to show different ways of making taonga.
Jacob Tawera Hotene Paul (Ngāti Awa)
What exposure to whakairo did you have growing up?
Growing up, my older brother was also a carver.
He was also a student of Ōtāhuhu College.
When I came to Ōtāhuhu College, my teacher really pushed me towards carving.
My older brother would always help me and then once I got more into it I enjoyed doing it by myself.
My brother and my teacher made it look fun and I got to see the opportunities that came with it.
I have a carving business that I started at the start of this year. I do birthday keys and taiaha.
My friends told me to start it because people would ask me for things and I would do it for fun and for free but they pushed me to make a side hustle out of it.
I pretty much stay here all day, at breaks and before school.
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