Mural Masterpieces - Ahipara School

Location:
250 Ahipara Road, Ahipara.

Team:
All Ahipara School students with art teacher Kim Subritzky.

Accessible to public:
Yes, around the back of the main office/class building.

Mural theme:
Muriwhenua Tukutuku panels.

Background to mural creation:
These murals have included every student at the school.  Each student has created their own taonga design on a plywood triangle which has then been put together to create a larger modernised version of a tukutuku panel.  There are four panels in total along with text that has been cut out and painted naming all the tribes of the Muriwhenua, Te Tai Tokerau.

The Waka panel represents the Te Rarawa people, descendants of the waka Tinana.  The waka is represented at the base of the panel and the iwi through the red, black and white triangles.  Above these are coloured triangles representing many other cultures that have come to settle in the Ahipara/Northland area.

Inspired by our phoenix palms, the second panel is named Akoranga.  It is about growth and the spiral of learning.

The Manaakitanga panel is about being kind to ourselves, others and the environment.  The red represents our people, our whanau, our friends.  The blue represents the beach, our environment.

The journey panel is by year 1s and year 8s – the youngest and oldest of the school.  It is about the school journey, leadership and pathways to the future.