Maraenui community banners scooped up for Te Papa display

Raewynne Kingi and one of the banners made for community events in Maraenui but which have gravitated from Napier to Te Papa after being spotted by museum staff in the hīkoi in Wellington last November.

Four hand-crafted banners made by the people for the people at community events in Maraenui will become part of a display at Te Papa after being “spotted” at last year’s Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti in Wellington.

The banners, depicting stories of Pania of the Reef and other Ahuriri connections historic and present, were among 10 made over a weekend workshop in Napier by a group of volunteers mentored by renowned Ngāti Porou fabric artist Maungarongo (Ron) Te Kawa.

The workshops, attracting 23 people, were supported by the Napier City Council’s Creative Communities grants scheme – part of a nationwide creative communities scheme started almost 30 years ago – and were to have made their first public appearance at the Maraenui Christmas in the Park last December.

But someone jumped the gun, by a few weeks, and four banners went to Wellington and were carried up Lambton Quay among a crowd of more than 50,000.

It was there they were spotted by Te Papa Tongarewa National Museum of New Zealand Curator Mātauranga Māori Dr Jamie Metzger, who wanted to discuss taking the banners into Te Papa’s collection.

Now an agreement has been reached for Te Papa to acquire four of the banners to be part of a display.

The Creative Communities grants are distributed to applicants twice a year to make and present creative projects, and councillor Ronda Chrystal, who holds the council’s Arts, Culture and Heritage portfolio, said: “We were thrilled to be able to support such a wonderful initiative in such a vibrant community.

“I was absolutely blown away by the results of the weekend workshop,” she said. “The banners are beautiful and such a meaningful reflection of the people who live in Maraenui. We are proud to have been part of the process and I have loved seeing them out and about at local community events.”

The idea came from local resident Raewynne Kingi, who became immersed in the project with a revival of needlework skills going back to school days.

“I’m just amazed it has gone this far,” she said. “I can’t believe our banners are going to Te Papa. I never thought my sewing skills from Sacred Heart would come in so handy. I’m just so proud of what we did and I hope everyone enjoys them.”

It was Neil Gordon who applied to Creative Communities for funding for the workshop, which he said was highly collaborative with people working together to generate designs, work through creative challenges and sew the ten banners.

“Ron is a genius, not just with fabric, but with people. He was able to get the group together, encourage them to go with their ideas and he had all the right suggestions to make sure the banners looked stunning,” he said. “The beauty of it is that Te Papa is funding a second workshop to bring Ron back. We will replace the four we are letting go and perhaps create some more.”

Te Papa Curator NZ Histories and Cultures Stephanie Gibson said: “Te Papa is really excited about acquiring these four beautiful banners. Banners have long played a significant role in protest movements with their scale, colour, dramatic imagery and messaging. Collecting these banners helps us mark the importance of the hīkoi, celebrate Ron Te Kawa and continue the fine tradition of banner making in Aotearoa.”