Matiti banners > Rationale | Getting started | Developing designs | Workshops | Reflection

Reflection

The completed works and the process of creating them was reflected upon in relation to the four strands of the visual arts discipline of The Arts in the New Zealand Curriculum:

• Developing Practical Knowledge in the Visual Arts (PK)
• Developing Ideas in the Visual Arts
• Communicating and Interpreting in the Visual Arts (CI)
• Understanding the Visual Arts in Context (UC)

The students considered how they had:

• developed and refined their visual ideas;
• developed their practical skills and knowledge;
• used art making to communicate ideas.

They recognised how they had drawn from the conventions of customary Māori visual culture to contextualise their work.

Alternative to text-based education

The completed banners were a stunning focus at the Whakaaturanga Whakanui Putaiao festival. Since then, they have graced many other formal occasions, including spending time at Te Papa illustrating an holistic approach to learning and the power of visual communication, especially in bicultural contexts.

The students who made the works were amazed and delighted with their creations. They realised how much they had learned and understood about science and the visual arts through this collaborative process. They could see that learning through making art is a powerful, important, and valid alternative to text-based education.