One of Aotearoa’s foremost innovators in Māori art and design, Professor Johnson Witehira (Tamahaki, Ngāi Tū-te-auru), is the new head of Massey University’s school of music and screen arts, Te Rewa o Puanga, in Wellington.
Professor Witehira, whose appointment was announced this week, said he is “excited about the potential” of his new role and acknowledged the university’s legacy in “bringing te ao Māori to the fore”.
He is best known for his work blending traditional Māori practices with contemporary technologies, including the development of Māori typefaces, large-scale public artworks and digital experiences.
Professor Witehira has created numerous standout design works, among them displays at New York’s Times Square and Auckland International Airport, and also animated Robyn Kahukiwa’s paintings for a Matariki celebration, projecting them onto a wall of water in Wellington.
Video / Johnson Witehira / Toi Māori X Times Square
His role will involve strengthening the integration of Māori knowledge and perspectives, working closely with the Associate Dean of Toi Māori, Rongomaiaia Te Whaiti.
Professor Witehira completed his doctorate in Māori Visual Arts at Massey University in 2013, which as he told Stuff involved “looking at how we can bring Māori visual culture into our lives in a contemporary way.”
“Because if you look at most of our spaces – our homes, offices, the bus we get to work – they don’t reflect Māori culture or who we are as a people. So that’s my focus in everything I do, from designing typefaces to large art installations.”
Professor Witehira is a co-founder of IDIA (Indigenous Design and Innovation Aotearoa), a collective of designers and innovators committed to driving global change through an indigenous perspective, and a founding member of Āpōpō, Wellington’s first indigenous creative tech hub.
He is also a member of the New Zealand Game Developers Conference Board.
Professor Margaret Maile, the Pro Vice-Chancellor of the College of Creative Arts, said the university was looking forward to the “transformative impact” that Professor Witehira’s leadership would bring.
She acknowledged his “exceptional career as an academic, designer and creative industries entrepreneur” and his “recognition internationally as a leading cultural innovator”.
