Student exhibition | Kiritai | Beyond the Walls

Kiritai | Beyond the Walls is an education project that brings students from secondary schools across Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland into Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki to engage with art together. The programme is founded on the belief in the power of art to connect people, strengthen communities and deepen our understanding of place.

Following a series of artist-led workshops, students were invited to create their own artworks responding to this year’s theme: Ko Wai Au? Who Am I?. ‘Ko wai au’ is a Māori concept that speaks to ancestral connection, empowerment and a profound sense of belonging and identity.

The diverse artworks in this exhibition reflect the unique ways these students have explored this question, unravelling their connections to their identity, whānau (family), whakapapa (genealogy), culture, communities and each other.

We invite you to step into the creative minds of these rangatahi (youth) to witness their stories and learn how they understand themselves and their place in the world.

Ko Kiritai tētahi kaupapa mātauranga toi e whakaemi ana i ngā ākonga nō ngā kura tuarua huri noa i Tāmaki Makaurau ki Toi o Tāmaki, hei hono tahi mai rātou ki te mahi toi. Ko tōna tūāpapa ko te whakapono ki te mana o te toi hei whakahonohono i ngā tāngata, hei whakapakari i ngā herenga ā-hapori, hei whakahōhonu hoki i tō tātou māramatanga ki te whenua.

Whai muri mai i ētahi wānanga nā ngā ringatoi i tuku i tonoa ngā ākonga ki te waihanga i ā rātou ake mahi toi, hei urupare ki te ariā o te tau nei: Ko Wai Au?. ‘Ko wai au’ ko tētahi whakaaro Māori e kōrero ana mō te hononga o tētahi ki ōna tīpuna, ūkaipō hoki, mō te whakamana me te wairua kaha o te tangata whenuatanga me te tuakiri.

He mea whakaatu mai ngā mahi toi kanorau o te whakaaturanga nei i ngā tini ara i whai ai ngā ākonga hei whakatōmene i te pātai nei, e urupounamu ana i ō rātou hononga ā-tuakiri, ā-whānau, ā-whakapapa, ā-ahurea, ā-hapori, waihoki, ki a rātou anō hoki.

Kua pōwhiritia koutou ki te tomo i ngā hinengaro auaha o ā tātou rangatahi, e kitea ai ō rātou kōrero, e ako hoki ai koutou ki te pēheatanga o ō rātou māramatanga ki a rātou anō, ki ō rātou tūranga hoki i te ao nei. 

Participating schools | Ngā kura i whai wāhi mai: Aorere College, Kelston Boys’ High School, Mount Albert Grammar, Ngā Puna o Waiōrea, Papakura High School, Pukekohe High School, Tangaroa College, Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Hoani Waititi Marae and Wesley College.

This project is an Enriching Local Curriculum (ELC) programme and supported by the Ministry of Education.

Image credit: Fern Taiapa, Te Hononga, Pukekohe High School.