Learning Specialist Martin Langdon shares insights into an artist and school project resulting in a new artwork now displayed in PlaNet Pasifika in Tangata o Le Moana on Level 4. He talks about ‘Āiga and the mahi involved from teachers, artists, tauira, and many Te Papa teams.
The fabric of Indigenous cultures
E hara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari, he toa takitini.
Success is not the work of an individual, but the work of the many.
O lupe sa vao, ese’ese, ae ua fuifui, faatasi.
We are different parts of the forest, but connected in one cause.
Community voices and intergenerational knowledge are the backbone of Indigenous cultures. This is part of our DNA, part of our fabric. It makes sense to me that when Te Papa was established and opened in 1998, we had some really groundbreaking principles and policies that would elevate the value of the knowledge held within cultural communities and enable us to be a different type of museum. This included inviting artists and communities to co-create artworks and spaces inside the museum.
The project
Tangata o Le Moana’s whānau space PlaNet Pasifika has been home to many installations since 1998. In 2025, an opportunity arose to replace an installation of vaka ama created by tauira in Niue in 2011. It was a chance to revitalise PlaNet Pasifika and welcome new voices into the museum.
It truly was a sprint. Through careful planning and collaborative development, space was created for the creative energy of both tauira and an artist to flourish. The next step was finding the right school and Pacific artist to dream big with.
The school: Tava‘e
We partnered with Naenae Primary School’s Sāmoan bilingual unit, Tava‘e. The year before, Tava‘e had participated in a custom education programme at Te Papa focused on Sāmoan art.
When developing custom programmes, it is vital to recognise that Te Papa is not always the expert. Communities often hold that expertise. This project was co-designed with kaiako Vanessa Silafai, Kalapu Masoe, and Jane Moemua, ensuring whakapapa connections to taonga were respected and centred.
My role was to listen and serve, connecting their aspirations for their tauira with a meaningful creative outcome. That initial programme was memorable and successful, making it a natural progression to collaborate again.
Tava‘e has 58 tauira across three classrooms, from Year 1 to Year 6. These students are our future leaders, creatives, engineers, and architects. This project offered an opportunity for their voices to live within the museum.
The artist: Salome Tanuvasa
Selecting the artist involved collaboration across the Art and Pacific Histories teams. Salome Tanuvasa emerged as a natural fit. Her practice, experience, and values aligned closely with the aspirations of the project.
Salome is a contemporary Pacific artist whose work explores ideas of ‘āiga, home, belonging, and identity. A first-generation New Zealander, she has exhibited nationally and internationally and is also a high school teacher in Tāmaki Makaurau. Her generosity of practice and experience working with rangatahi ensured tauira voices were valued and empowered.
The starting point: A rose, an atoll, or many islands
Working closely with Salome, we explored the parameters of the space, including what was possible structurally and conceptually. One conversation led to a central idea: home is grounding. Salome asked, “What if, when you look up, the work feels like a rose or connected islands?”
This sparked a series of drawings that became the foundation of the installation.
With Tava‘e kaiako, we explored the idea that home can exist in many places, including practices, memories, families, and whenua. The concept of ‘āiga (extended family including relatives by blood and marriage) reaffirmed Indigenous understandings of connection such as whānau, kainga, and community. In Te Moananui-a-Kiwa, we are connected by the ocean, not divided by it.
Creating the 5-session plan
Together with kaiako and Salome, we developed learning frameworks and lesson plans that allowed tauira to explore ideas of home and ‘āiga. These sessions supported learners to refine ideas and skills, resulting in individual tohu that came together as a collective artwork.
Alongside this, Exhibition Technician Glynis Gardner and I developed an installation methodology, translating creative intent into a practical design while remaining flexible during installation. This starting point was enough for us to confidently proceed.
The sessions in action
Session one: Connection and introduction
Our first session took place at the school, where I met the students to share who we were and what this project would look like. The project included all three classrooms of Tava‘e, from five-year-olds to eleven-year-olds. Salome introduced herself to the tauira and we began to test out key ideas and creative making exercises as a group. It was a joyful and energetic start to the project.
Session two: Visiting Te Papa
Two buses brought Tava‘e to Te Papa. For many of the students and their whānau, it was their first visit to the museum, and the excitement was electric.
On this visit, Tava‘e were getting to know Te Papa and the people who work here. The students were introduced to the PlaNet Pasifika space, connected with Waka Hourua, explored the Pacific collection store, met curators and kaitiaki taonga, used ‘upeti boards, and made drawings of their measina.
The museum was now more familiar to them, and they could begin to see themselves and their future artwork here.
Session three: Making together
By now, we’d had a good chance to connect with each other and identify our aspirations for the project. In class the kaiako had been doing amazing work developing a connection to the kaupapa of ‘āiga. At home, the project sparked conversations between whānau and their tamariki.
With these conversations in mind, the students began to plan their tohu – symbols of ‘āiga that would adorn the installation.
Thanks to the kaiako, a lot of this work was happening in the classroom throughout the project, not just in the sessions when we were there.
Session four: Final touches
Session four was the last before the installation of the artwork and opening event. By the end of the day, all the tauira had made their tohu from cotton fabric – their designs reflecting the kōrero and kaupapa of the last four weeks. Amidst the making creative buzz, we managed to capture some reflections from kaiako.
Listen to Naenae kaiako Vanessa Silafai as she introduces herself and talks about the experience of the project.
“I’m a teacher for our juniors in our Tava‘e unit, our year zeroes to year threes.
Oh my gosh, where do we start? The kids have loved this project right from the get-go, right from day one.
Just seeing them progress throughout the last five to six weeks has been amazing. A lot of the kids, we got lots of kōrero, a lot of discussions around our home, s and it was so great to see the kids thrive. And I guess in a place where they’re so used to talking about their identity, and to be able to put it in an art form has been such a blessing, especially for our babies and our Le Aute unit.
It’s been so cool, seeing the progressions from what a year six artwork, what their story’s about, right down to the year zero. So many different stories, yet all connected to that one thing, our home, our identity, and our culture. And it’s just been such a great project for our kids.”
Installation week
Salome created large fabric drops, in different sizes and colours, for the tohu to be attached to. With support from Glynis and many other Te Papa kaimahi, the work was brought to life in the space.
What aiga means to these tamariki
This is a real snapshot of what ‘āiga means to these tauira: home, whānau, family, alofa, aroha, love.
There are many stories held within the tohu:
- Mum’s butter chicken
- two sisters picking flowers together
- the Kingfishers rugby league jersey
- ‘ulafala
- prayer candle
- karaoke microphone
- Burma flag
- Cook Island flag
- Tokelau flag
- Tino Rangatiratanga flag
- fale
- tānoa
- kilikiti bat
- guitar
- Bible
and many, many more.
Session five: Opening and celebration
The opening event was a celebration of connection, pride, and belonging. Tamariki and whānau saw themselves reflected in the space. Te Papa kaimahi felt equally embraced by the energy and hope embodied in the work.
I am humbled to be a part of this project and to have been able to support the tamariki and their whānau to represent their ‘āiga at the museum. The opening event was perfect and hard to sum up in words. The video below says more than I could.
Acknowledgements
Revitalising this space has taken many months and the dedication of many people.
This project was made possible through the dedication of many people across many months. Thank you to Hanahiva Rose, Sean Mallon, Emelihter Kihleng, Glynis Gardner, Grace Hutton, and the Te Papa Learning team for your trust and commitment to this kaupapa. Thank you to the kaiako of Tava‘e for your enduring passion for your kids and commitment to developing this project, and to the ‘āiga and many supporters of the tauira; they are a tribute to your love and support. And to Salome Tanuvasa, our amazing artist, who was so generous with your ideas, problem-solving nuance, and willingness to embody and embrace this kaupapa.
This project goes beyond an installation. It reflects Te Papa’s role as a Te Tiriti-led museum, committed to partnership, shared authority, and the inclusion of community voices. The students’ and whānau voices now hang in PlaNet Pasifika not only as artworks, but as living markers of belonging, connection, and purpose. It is a reminder that when we centre home, relationships, and collective care, everyone can see themselves reflected.
The wisdom expressed in Sāmoan and Māori traditions underpins this approach, guiding how we understand identity, connection, and wellbeing.
Toitū te marae o Tangaroa, Toitū te marae o Tane, Toitū te tangata
If the sea is well and the land is well, the people will thrive
A logo tai, ua logo uta.
What is felt in the ocean is felt in the land.
Come and see ‘Āiga, the taonga Salome and students created, hanging in Tangata o le Moana on Level 4 at Te Papa.
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