Wānanga at Te Rau Karamu Marae on the Pukeahu campus will be core to the new curriculum.
A first for tertiary education in Aotearoa New Zealand, the college is offering a new major in Mātauranga Toi Māori in 2025, enabling students to engage te ao Māori in any of the creative arts bachelor’s degrees, together with the creative discipline of their choice.
In the new major, students will take a comprehensive look into critical facets of toi Māori such as te reo Māori me ōna tikanga, mōteatea, waiata, karakia and other subjects within mātauranga Māori. They will explore the historical evolution of toi Māori within the whare whakairo, to its presence and power in activism and contemporary arts across a diverse spectrum of disciplines.
It is available from 2025 as a double major in the Bachelor of Design, Bachelor of Screen Arts and Bachelor of Commercial Music, and as a major in the Bachelor of Fine Arts.
Kaihautū Toi Māori Director Māori Art Rongomaiaia Te Whaiti, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa, Ngāi Tahu, says, “We’re not only introducing new courses and content, but we are changing our approach to teaching on our Wellington campus.”
Mātauranga Māori informs the pedagogical approach within the new programme, and includes wānanga through the multi-award-winning campus marae Te Rau Karamū as core to the new curriculum, providing students with an unparalleled educational environment and immersive experience.
Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor Māori Professor Ngataiharuru Taepa, Te Atiawa, Te Arawa, says the Matauranga Toi Māori Major is a step towards realising the vision of elders, such as the late Ahorangi Huirangi Waikerepuru, with Te Rau Karamū Marae becoming an important kura wānanga where customary Māori learning practices can take place.
“The students will be informed by the local histories, knowledge and customs of Te Atiawa and we are fortunate to have Associate Dean Māori, Associate Professor Kura Puke, who is of the local iwi Ngati Tāwhirkura and carries the teachings of elders such as the late Mereiwa Broughton and Huirangi Waikereperu."
“It required a college-wide shift to enable a type of fluidity that is often restricted by university structures, processes and timetables. It’s easy to get caught up in that stuff, but we maintained our focus - ‘what’s the best creative arts education we can offer?’ and particularly for Māori. Once we could agree on that, the rest has been relatively simple.
"The major went through a rigorous process of academic scrutiny from other universities, and also from our own Māori academics at Massey. Collectively, with all Māori academics in the college, we put our experiences, knowledge and expertise into the basket and turned over every stone before putting it out to the wider university. We don’t plan on stopping at a major, but it’s a good start," Rongomaiaia Te Whaiti says.
Students will be taught by contemporary Māori artists including Angela Kilford, Erena Arapere, Eugene Hansen, Associate Professor Hemi Macgregor, Professor Huhana Smith MNZM, Israel Randell, Karangawai Marsh, Associate Professor Kura Puke, Associate Professor Kura Te Waru-Rewiri, Matt Tini, Professor Ngataiharuru Taepa, Associate Professor Rachael Rakena, Regan Balzer, Professor Robert Jahnke ONZM, Rongomaiaia Te Whaiti and Shannon Te Ao.
CoCA Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Margaret Maile says the new major is an example of the college’s mission to center te ao Māori, be Te Tiriti o Waitangi-led in all that it does, and to ensure it is core to student learning at CoCA.
An exciting staff appointment to support the new major is multi award-winning musician and researcher, Associate Professor Horomona Horo, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Porou, Taranaki, who has recently been announced as an Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi Laureate.
Mr Horo will be lecturing across the new major and Te Rewa o Pūanga School of Music and Screen Arts. He brings with him over 20 years of experience in taonga pūoro (customary Māori instruments) and contemporary music. From 2015 to 2018, Mr Horo taught in the Faculty of Māori and Indigenous Studies at Waikato University under the guidance of the late Hirini Melbourne ONZM and Dr Richard Nunns QSM.
Associate Professor Horomona Horo.
His creative practice has taken him around the world to places like Singapore, Turkey, Hawai’i, Belgium, China and Venice. He brings his extensive knowledge of taonga pūoro to collaborations with Ria Hall, Maisey Rika, Fat Freddy’s Drop and Moana and the Tribe. Alongside Dana Lund, he was awarded the Te Manawa APRA Silver Scroll for Best Original Music in a Feature Film for their score on Whina. More recently, Mr Horo worked with 20th Century Fox, adding taonga pūoro into the film score for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.
Head of Te Rewa o Pūanga School of Music and Screen Arts Associate Professor Bridget Johnson says, “Horo’s extensive knowledge and skills in taonga pūoro is an exciting innovation for the college’s commercial music programme. Our new staff, coupled with the Mātauranga Toi Māori major, is a game changer and we are so excited to see the work of our students evolve under these developments.”
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