Press Release: Beyond the Surface: Integrating Toi Māori & Pūrākau across built-environments – By Design Programme – Fast Forward. University of Auckland
Professor Johnson Witehira (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.
Design Programme – Fast Forward. University of Auckland
Johnson Witehira (Wellington)
Beyond the Surface: Integrating Toi Māori & Pūrākau across built-environments
Fast Forward 2026
Semester 2
Date: Wednesday 19 August 2026, 6:30pm
Venue: Conference Centre Lecture Theatre (423-342), University of Auckland City Campus
Register here: https://unievents.auckland.ac.nz/event-details/eventbrite/1992885958549
https://redesign.ac.nz
https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/engineering/about-the-faculty/design-programme.html
