Integrating Toi Māori & Pūrākau across built-environments

Beyond the Surface: Integrating Toi Māori & Pūrākau across built-environments

Fast Forward 2026

Semester 2

Date: Wednesday 19 August 2026, 6:30pm

Venue: TBC (City Campus, University of Auckland)

(Tamahaki, Ngāi Tū-te-auru, Ngāti Hinekura) is Head of School of Te Rewa o Puanga – School of Music and Screen Arts at Massey University. An artist, designer and researcher of Māori and Pākehā descent, his practice explores how mātauranga Māori can shape the built environment, public space, and emerging technologies. He has collaborated on major civic projects including the departure journey at Auckland Airport and integrated artworks for the City Rail Link. His work investigates how design can express whakapapa, strengthen cultural identity, and create meaningful relationships between people, place and infrastructure.Johnson is co-founder of Indigenous Design and Innovation Aotearoa, a research collective advancing Indigenous-led futures through design, and co-founder of PAKU, whose award-winning Māori gardening tools have received international recognition.

In this lecture, Johnson reflects on a selection of projects across the built environment, considering how Indigenous design approaches can move beyond representation to actively shape the spaces, systems and futures we inhabit.

10 CPD points available.

Please note that tickets purchased from unauthorized third-party websites are not valid; please use only the approved website (eventbrite.co.nz) for ticket purchases/registrations.

Image Caption: Knowledge Flows for Nuit Blanche, Toronto (2022)

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Getting to the venue:

The main Faculty of Engineering and Design buildings are conveniently located at the heart of the University's City Campus and are easily accessible via many forms public transport. For further information on public transport schedules, visit the Auckland Transport website.

For those driving in, further information on parking options can be found here.