Professor Creative Arts
Professor Huhana Smith is a visual artist, curator and principle investigator in research who engages in major environmental, trans-disciplinary, kaupapa Māori and action-research projects. She is co-principle investigator for research that includes mātauranga Māori methods with sciences to actively address climate change concerns for coastal Māori lands in Horowhenua-Kāpiti. Huhana actively encourages the use of art and design’s visual systems combined in exhibitions, to expand how solutions might integrate complex issues and make solutions more accessible for local communities.
Rangahau · Related projects
This research supports iwi-led, tikanga-informed innovation, grounded in Kaupapa Māori methodology. Through wānanga and co-design with Ngāti Tukorehe, the team is developing safe, solvent-free dye processes that respect tikanga and are reproducible in community settings.
View projectTe Rangianiwaniwa a Te Harakeke – The Harakeke’s Rainbow
This research supports iwi-led, tikanga-informed innovation, grounded in Kaupapa Māori methodology. Through wānanga and co-design with Ngāti Tukorehe, the team is developing safe, solvent-free dye processes that respect tikanga and are reproducible in community settings.
Kairangahau · Researchers
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Associate Professor Sonya Withers
Associate Professor Sonya Withers
Sonya Withers is a New Zealand born Pacific creative with whakapapa back to Scotland and Sama’i, Falelatai, Sāmoa. Sonya is a graduate of the College of Creative Arts, with BDes (Textile Design major) and postgraduate qualifications in Visual and Material Culture and a Masters in Design. Sonya is a Design lecturer at the College of Creative Arts School of Design and teaches across Textile Studio and Critical and Contextual Studies. -
Dr. Tanya Ruka
Dr. Tanya Ruka
Ko Tanya Te Miringa Te Rorarangi Ruka ahau, Ngati Pakau, Ngapuhi te Iwi. Tanya Ruka is a research-based contemporary arts practitioner, educator, author, editor, curator & publisher.2025 DNDA Don Norman Design Award in EducationHer work in the digital landscape, is dedicated to embedding indigenous knowledge and perspectives into contemporary narratives and practices. Firmly placing Indigenous ways of knowing and being in landless territories of new imagined futures. AIRI (Artificial Indigenous Relational Intelligence) - coined by Tanya 2024 PhD - training educational/ relational AI with… -
Briar Moffat
Briar Moffat
Kō Tainui te WakaKō Tararua te MaungaKō Ōtaki me Ōhau ngā AwaKō Ngāti Tukorehe me Ngāti Raukawa te iwiKō Briar Moffatt tāku ingoaI am the Founder and Director of Whare Kōtare -
Dr. William Xu
Dr. William Xu
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Ally Ataria
Ally Ataria
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Julia Hope
Julia Hope
Julia Hope is a textiles artist who completed her Masters of Design at Massey University. -
Huhana Smith
Huhana Smith
Professor Huhana Smith is a visual artist, curator and principle investigator in research who engages in major environmental, trans-disciplinary, kaupapa Māori and action-research projects. She is co-principle investigator for research that includes mātauranga Māori methods with sciences to actively address climate change concerns for coastal Māori lands in Horowhenua-Kāpiti. Huhana actively encourages the use of art and design’s visual systems combined in exhibitions, to expand how solutions might integrate complex issues and make solutions more accessible for local communities. -
Faith Kane
Faith Kane
Faith Kane is a design researcher and educator working in the area of textiles and materials. Her research interests include design for sustainability, collaborative working in the design/science space and the role and value of craft knowledge within these contexts. She is also an editor of the Journal of Textile Design Research and Practice. Find out more about Faith’s work at www.faithkane.com
Bringing together cutting-edge mapping tools, mātauranga Māori, and regenerative farming practices, this iwi-led project empowers Tahamata Incorporation to reimagine the future of their coastal farm. Through GIS, LiDAR, and deep local knowledge, the team is creating new ways to see, plan, and care for the whenua—together.
View projectMe whakaoreore tātou: Mobilising mapping technologies that benefit Tahamata Incorporation’s coastal farm in Kuku, Horowhenua
Bringing together cutting-edge mapping tools, mātauranga Māori, and regenerative farming practices, this iwi-led project empowers Tahamata Incorporation to reimagine the future of their coastal farm. Through GIS, LiDAR, and deep local knowledge, the team is creating new ways to see, plan, and care for the whenua—together.
Kairangahau · Researchers
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Moira Poutama
Moira Poutama
Moira Poutama is an iwi researcher with over 20 years’ experience leading kaupapa Māori and taiao-focused projects. Her work spans oral history, environmental restoration, and iwi engagement, producing evidence and research that support iwi aspirations. She has contributed to award-winning studies and collaborative reports on ecosystems, waterways, and whānau wellbeing. -
Hayden Fowler
Hayden Fowler
Hayden Fowler has a Master of Fine Arts from UNSW Australia and an earlier degree in Ecology. He employs the dynamics of a hybrid practice, incorporating emerging theory from both the sciences and humanities to develop projects that engage audiences conceptually, aesthetically and immersively. His practice is motivated by the planetary human-nature crisis, exploring the effects of alienation from the natural world on the human psyche and the potentials of non-anthropocentric thought in the generation of transformed futures.Fowler's work and thinking is located within colonial/ post-colonial… -
Nathan Galluzzo
Nathan Galluzzo
Landscape Architect, researcher and investigator working across environmental, trans-disciplinary, Māori and Aboriginal projects, and tutor at the University of Technology Sydney. Nathan’s practice and research are grounded in a strong interest in creative thinking, ecological enhancement, traditional knowledge and the relationships between people, culture and Country.Nathan is currently undertaking PhD research exploring how Indigenous-led forms of visual storytelling can support the communication and recognition of Indigenous knowledge within Western legal and evidentiary frameworks. His…