In the recently published paper ‘Reclaiming the threads: Re-Narrating Māori stories in new spaces’, our Translation, Uptake and Impact (TUI) project team showcased how the translation of Māori research data into innovative formats and spaces can open research communication to much broader audiences - including Indigenous communities and other key stakeholders – through an award-winning collaboration with Māori creative students.
Using the Tō Mātou Kāinga tō Mātou Ūkaipō research project as a case study, the paper illustrates how research findings can be re-told through multiple creative mediums and platforms. It advocates for a more collaborative approach between researchers and creatives, fostering culturally resonant practices that respect Indigenous perspectives to enhance the accessibility and impact of research findings.
Kia Puāwai deputy director and Translation, Uptake and Impact (TUI) project lead, Dr Tanya Allport, says this means going ‘beyond the conventional’ ways research impact and outcomes are shared – primarily written reports and academic journals - which ‘often fail’ to acknowledge the diverse ways knowledge is generated and shared across different cultural contexts.
“As Kaupapa Māori researchers we know the way we shape and communicate research determines whom the story belongs to, who needs to tell it, and who needs to hear it,” says Dr Allport.
“From a Māori worldview, knowledge is historically transmitted through oral traditions, waiata (song), haka (ceremonial dance), oriori (chant, lullaby) - and other oral and performative forms - as valid and meaningful ways of sharing knowledge.”
To make the Tō Mātou Kāinga research data and outcomes more accessible, engaging and inclusive of Māori audiences especially, the TUI project team actively engaged Māori students to come up with creative ways to share their research findings, through a kaupapa Māori lens.
They also used this as a capacity building opportunity, with Dr Allport and PhD candidate/TUI project design lead, Tom Johnson, mentoring and empowering the students to apply their knowledge and skills effectively both in academic contexts and within their communities.
Enter Tomairangi Morgan and Jordan Tane – both students from Auckland University of Technology (AUT) – who worked with the research kōrero in conjunction with TUI project team and AUT lecturers from Good Health Design.
“Jordan and Tomairangi brought fresh perspectives, applying their backgrounds in arts, writing, poetry, creative design, and Te Reo Māori,” explains says Dr Allport.
“Their interpretations of our research resonated strongly with us and with the wider creative and research communities respectively.”
Jordan and Tomairangi won Gold and Bronze respectively at the 2024 Best Design Awards for their creative interpretations of our Tō Mātou Kāinga tō Mātou Ūkaipō research data.
Their works also featured in a beautiful, thought-provoking exhibition at our ‘Re-imagining Māori and Home’ symposium held at AUT in mid-July this year, alongside other powerful works by AUT students exploring themes of health, wellbeing, and Māori housing through visual design, storytelling, and animation. The exhibition added a visual and emotional layer to the kōrero, demonstrating how creativity plays a vital role in transforming complex issues into meaningful insights.
Here are their respective journeys working with our research data and their award-winning creative thought processes and outputs.
Tomairangi Morgan
Tomairangi (Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Uenukukopako, Ngāti Te Roro o te Rangi, Ngāti Maniapoto me Ngāti Whātua) completed a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Creative Writing with a minor in Te Reo Māori in December of 2024.
As a student intern with Whakauae Research Services on the Kia Puāwai TUI research project, she produced the book, ‘Tõ Mātou Kāinga, Tõ Mātou Ūkaipō: A Collection of Stories About Māori Perceptions of Home’.
When asked what inspired the collection of stories in her book, Tomairangi says there were common themes, situations or feelings about perceptions of home shared by the Tõ Mātou Kāinga, Tõ Mātou Ūkaipō research participants that she felt “all Māori can relate to.”
“Home is not only a place. Where there is love, warmth, acceptance, and the permission to exist exactly as we are, there is home,” she says.
Many research participants also identified grandmothers as the “glue” of the whānau, a sentiment Tomairangi could relate to.
“When Whakauae approached me to create stories for the Tõ Mātou Kāinga research project, my whānau i te taha o taku Māmā had our nan die of cancer. I te taha o taku Pāpā, our living nanny suffers from dementia,” she says.
“The day our nan died, my cousin asked me if I wanted to go home. I asked her where home was now that our nan was gone.”
Tomairangi wrote the story ‘Homeless’ in direct response, recognising the impact our grandmothers have on our lives “from while we have them to when we bid them goodbye.”
The research data and her creative interpretation of the feedback made her reflect on and share her own perceptions of home.
“My Pāpā has always said to my brothers and I, whenever we feel lost, alone, or we just need to rest, come home. Wherever that is, and wherever we are.
“We now have the privilege of our home being right on the doorstep of our marae, where my Pāpā and his whānau whakapapa to. Not all Māori are afforded that same privilege.”
Tomairangi felt honoured to translate the research participants’ perceptions of home in a way that resonates with whānau and hāpori Māori; that could be readily shared and passed on.
“I wanted their voices, the stories of the research participants, to make the elements of home which we all know and acknowledge, available wherever our whānau might be.”
Jordan Tane
Jordan (Ngāpuhi) was the top Bachelor of Design in Communication Design student at AUT and now holds a Master of Design (First Class Honours). Her research explored how Kaupapa Māori values can inform design approaches to whānau violence and culturally grounded health knowledge.
When Jordan was first tasked with creating posters to represent the four pūrākau and share insights from the Tõ Mātou Kāinga, Tõ Mātou Ūkaipō research, she quickly realised the depth of the kōrero shared by participants required a deeper form of creative expression.
“I recognised the deep significance of home and aspirations shared by whānau Māori, and decided I had to go beyond imagery and into a more immersive experience,” says Jordan.
“Physical artefacts offer a sensory depth that goes beyond a single image - the ability to touch and engage with an object from multiple perspectives fosters a more profound connection, sparking imagination and enabling deeper interpretation.”
Jordan created four artefacts rooted in Mātauranga Māori, ensuring that they not only resonated with Māori but also evoked familiarity and engagement.
“Home is more than just a place. It is found in the presence of whānau, in the warmth of shared moments, and in the connections that we create,” says Jordan.
“A holistic understanding of home was essential to my approach, which is why Māoritanga and mātauranga remained central to the design.”
Jordan felt the values of whānau also needed to be fully represented in her design, and ‘reflect the many ways’ these values manifest.
“A safe and healthy home is where loved ones are nourished, where the past is honoured alongside the present, and where wellbeing—both physical and emotional—is upheld.
“These core principles shaped my design process, ensuring that each element spoke to the deeper meaning of home as experienced by whānau Māori.”
Jordan says she has always been drawn to projects that resonate with her own experiences, and this one was no different. She considered not only how each piece would stand on its own, but also how they would feel as a cohesive collection.
“I found my approach through sensory engagement—bringing in smell, sight, and touch to deepen the experience,” she says.
“This thinking shaped the colour palette and the materials I selected, ensuring each artefact felt familiar, evoked memory, and reflected the essence of ‘home’ in a way that resonated with whoever encountered them.
“Home, to me, is not defined by the presence of a large whānau—it is a place of familiarity, safety, and comfort. It is wherever I feel able to be fully myself,” explains Jordan.
With her early years shaped by whānau violence, this created a distance between Jordan and her whakapapa Māori.
“For a long time, I kept myself apart from those connections, and it wasn’t until I started university that my journey back to my culture truly began,” says Jordan.
“Choosing to remain separate from my father and wider whānau meant I had to find my own sense of whakapapa whānau. Through that, I came to understand belonging in my own way.”
Jordan is a multi-award-winning designer specialising in storytelling, communication design, and social change. Passionate about design as a tool for empowerment, she focuses on strengthening Māori voices and fostering well-being through her creative practice.
