Te Urungi Innovating Aotearoa: a new vision for the future of art, culture and heritage in Aotearoa.

Te Urungi Innovating Aotearoa brought together the creative community in wānanga-style events across Aotearoa. Creators and innovators worked together to develop bold and transformative ideas to reinvigorate the creative sector post Covid.

We wanted to express the harnessing of creative energy, unified for innovative outcomes.

The name references the steering paddle of the waka hourua - the “Urungi”. This paddle guides ocean-going waka, driving them towards their destination with stability and agility. It expresses balance between nature and navigator, science and spirit.

Waka hourua expert, Matahi Whakataka-Brightwell (Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Ngāti Raukawa, Te Arawa, Rongowhakaata), the first in modern times to navigate a traditional waka hourua from Tahiti to New Zealand, helped guide us through the story of Te Urungi to develop the visual identity.

The aim was to understand how traditional knowledge provides insights into connections between nature and navigator, science and spirit; following the migrating Toroa and Tavake who are following the schools of Kanae, and being inspired and guided by kaitiaki star constellations and Tohorā.

The logo for Te Urungi brings all these layers together in a simple, bold identity. The colour palette is a direct reference to Mātahi’s sketches while out at sea.

We brought together a customary Māori artist and a contemporary designer to blend two creative visions.

We brought together Graham Tipene, a customary Māori design expert (Ngāti Whātua, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Manu, Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Haua) and Tim Hansen (Ngāti Pākehā) a contemporary artist and graphic designer to wānanga and co-design together.

An artwork was created to express the mana of our two great atua, Tāwhirimātea and Tangaroa, converging on Te Urungi (the paddle). These two motifs are able to be repeated or reflected, similar to kōwhaiwhai.

The design aims to express the coming together of manatu taonga and the creative community through Te Urungi.

This unification is mirrored in the connection of the celestial and marine life represented in the artworks.

A digital campaign promoted the events, inviting people to participate. Group developed concepts were then given funding, bringing our creative community together in unique ways.

$60M in funding was injected into the creative community over 12 months, lifting it out of a post-Covid depression. We’re proud to have contributed to such rich visual storytelling to engage our communities.

Summary