Join artist Ron Te Kawa at the NZ Portrait Gallery to create an upcycled original textile Matariki artwork.

Each Matariki Star has a special power. Choose your favourite from the list below, and bring along your favourite bright fabrics, old clothes, blankets, and linens to create a groovy textile artwork!

 Registration now open

Limited entry

Ron Te Kawa Range of works:

Te iwa o Matariki

Although there are about a thousand stars in Matariki, nine stars are visible to the unaided eye. In te ao Māori, each of the whetū is associated with an aspect of wellbeing and the environment.

• Matariki (Alcyone) – people’s health and wellbeing

• Tupu-ā-rangi (Atlas) – things that grow up in trees, including fruits, berries and birds

• Waipuna-ā-rangi (Electra) – rainfall

• Waitī (Maia) – freshwater bodies and foods from these waters

• Ururangi (Merope) – the winds

• Tupu-ā-nuku (Pleione) – food that is gathered/harvested from the soil

• Waitā (Taygeta) – the ocean and foods that come from it

• Pōhutukawa (Sterope) – those who have passed on

• Hiwa-i-te-rangi (Calaeno) – attainment of goals.

We will provide:

Scissors , fabrics , thread, a few sewing machines (Feel free to bring your own if you’d like!).

This is a Day workshop, which will be at most 4 hours long, starting at 10:30am, with a break for lunch.

Please be aware that no food or drink can be consumed in the Gallery.