Hey everyone, Well it is a very special time of year for us here in New Zealand as Matariki starts today. Now some of our overseas visitors might be a little confused about what Matariki is. But let the confusion be no longer. Matariki is the Māori New Year.
Matariki celebrations were once popular, but stopped around the 1940s. In 2000, they were revived and today are becoming an important part of our traditions again. Traditionally, Matariki was a time to remember those who had died in the last year. But it was also a happy event – crops had been harvested and seafood and birds had been collected. With plenty of food in the storehouses, Matariki was a time for singing, dancing and feasting. A true New Year celebration!
In Te Māhuri, and at Yaldhurst, we have a number of activities and celebrations planned. Part of these celebrations is to explore Matariki art through New Zealand artists and then use that knowledge and understanding to create our own artwork. At the end of term we will be showcasing our artwork to our whānau, holding a silent auction of artwork and a 'Guess the Artist' competition featuring some famous faces as well as some less famous staff ones.
In our class we have been building up our art skills and knowledge. We don't know which artist we will choose to focus on yet, but we have been trying out some different skills based on known Matariki art and New Zealand artists. We have looked at artwork by Manuel Mitchell, Reuben Paterson and Raewyn Harris to inspire us. This is some of our work so far. As you can see it is all based around a koru.
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