Kia ora kotou katoa,

Ko Carl Gibbons tēnei.

I was lucky enough to attend the annual Mahi-a-Toi showcase on Friday, 20 July at Unitec.

The showcase is to celebrate the toi of the Level 2 Mahi-a-Toi Academy students who have been completing the tertiary component of the Mahi-a-Toi academy.

The students have been at Unitec every Friday in Term 2 working under the expert eyes of Hohepa Renata and Michael Freeman. The whakaaro behind the student’s mahi is to express their Te Ao Māori concepts through a digital media medium. The quality of the mahi was excellent and I was also impressed with the volume of work that was produced.

This year the tauira concentrated clearly and with depth on their whakapapa as the basis for their creations and it was great to see some intricate professional mahi as a result. I especially liked how this years cohort had produced some pieces which described their work leaving the viewer with more understanding of the pieces in question.

I would like to acknowledge the support of Unitec of our students as well as the individual mahi of both Hohepa and Michael. Likewise the support of the whanau is awesome and you are probably the most important cog in the machine and finally a big thank you to Matua Jeff who continues to lead and support these students with passion and expertise.

We now look forward to the end of year overall showcase for both Level 2 and 3. This is held at Rutherford College.  He mai katoa! (All are welcome).