Our kaupapa
Whakatere Toi Moana is an Indigenous-led research whānau and aiga at Massey University’s College of Creative Arts.
We bring together Māori and Pasifika artists, designers, researchers and technologists to shape Indigenous futures through bold, collaborative and culturally grounded research.
The cluster is guided by the principles of tino rangatiratanga, whanaungatanga and reciprocity. Our kaupapa is led by Indigenous knowledge systems and methodologies.
- We support self-determined knowledge creation.
- We affirm the sovereignty of Indigenous worldviews in contemporary creative practice.
- We prioritise community-engaged, future-focused research that sustains our cultural legacies while embracing new tools, platforms and possibilities.
Our work – Tā tātou mahi
Through our research we are actively:
- Building relationships within the College of Creative Arts, communities and institutions.
- Defining research priorities that are grounded in Māori and Pasifika worldviews.
- Launching interdisciplinary projects across creative technologies, visual arts, storytelling, sound and design.
- Creating pathways for postgraduate students to collaborate through tuakana teina initiatives.
- Growing our presence through digital platforms, public events and knowledge sharing.
About us – Mō mātou
The name Whakatere Toi Moana speaks to purposeful movement, navigation and the journey across the expansive ocean of creative and technological futures.
- Whakatere (te reo Māori): to set in motion, to launch, to navigate. It reflects our choice to move forward with clarity, direction and collective energy.
- Toi Moana: the ocean of creative practice and Indigenous knowledge. It reflects our commitment to Indigenous-led innovation in art, design and technology.
This name also resonates with our Pasifika collaborators. In Samoan, the word Fa‘atele carries similar meanings — to launch, to intensify, to multiply. Together, Whakatere and Fa‘atele point to the shared cultural values and ancestral knowledge that shape our research, innovation and creative practice.
Whakatere Toi Moana reflects our roots and our aspirations. It is a call to voyage together across new creative horizons while remaining connected to our identities.
Our values
Our cluster is guided by values that shape our work.
- Tino Rangatiratanga: upholding Indigenous leadership, autonomy and knowledge systems.
- Whanaungatanga: building meaningful relationships within the university and beyond.
- Manaakitanga: practicing care, generosity and shared responsibility in all our collaborations.
- Reciprocity: giving back to the communities and knowledge systems that sustain us.
- Wairuatanga: honouring the spiritual and cultural depth of Indigenous creative practice.
- Kaitiakitanga: being caretakers of knowledge, stories and the future.
Our people – Ngā tangata
Whakatere Toi Moana is led by vibrant Māori and Pasifika researchers, artists, technologists and storytellers.
Photo credit: styling by Suzanne Tamaki, photography by Russell Kleyn.
Professor Johnson Witehira
Johnson is a leading Indigenous artist, designer, and academic whose work bridges Mātauranga Māori and creative technologies. An innovator in decolonised and indigenised design, his practice spans visual arts, game development, and storytelling. He is widely known for championing Māori design, with work exhibited nationally and internationally.
Associate Professor Rachael Rakena
Rachael is widely respected for her innovative use of digital and electronic media immersed in Māori tradition, culture and values. Her work has prompted a new term - toi rerehiko (literally 'electric brain'); a play on rorohiko, the Māori word for computer. She has exhibited internationally, including works at the Sydney Biennale, Venice Biennale and Busan Biennale.
Rongomaiaia Te Whaiti
Rongomaiaia is a painter and researcher focused on Māori naturalistic painted histories, rangatiratanga, and Indigenous agency in art and design. She co-founded the Mātauranga Toi Māori major and leads Te Ranga Tai Kura, providing strategic leadership for Māori advancement at Toi Rauwhārangi.
Associate Professor Horomona Horo
Composer, musician, traditional practitioner, cross genre and arts collaborator, Associate Professor Horomona Horo has fused the traditional instruments of the Māori, taonga pūoro, with a range of cultural, musical, traditional, contemporary and educational forms.
Associate Professor Tuilagi Dr. Igelese Ete
Tuilagi Dr. Igelese Ete is a Samoan academic, composer, and arts leader. As Associate Dean (Pacific) at Massey University, he champions Pacific-led creative research. A Moana and LOTR choral director, he founded the new Malaga Sā paper, and continues to uplift Indigenous Pacific traditional knowledge, fa’a Samoa, and Pacific community wellbeing.
Dr. Rachael Hall
Rachael is a designer and researcher whose work centres on musical instruments, Pacific design, and furniture. Known for her making and reimagining of customary Tongan instruments, she focuses on Indigenising conventional design practices to embrace the richness and plurality of design, cultivating more impactful processes and outcomes.
Contact us
If you are interested in joining our kaupapa or collaborating with Whakatere Toi Moana, please contact us.