Wānanga 4 – Hard materials with Rose Evans
Tuesday, 30 July 2024
The fourth in our Taonga Care Wānanga series looked at preventative conservation and what to consider when storing and caring for taonga, made from stone, bone, wood, metal or resin.
This wānanga, organised in collaboration with Te Papa Tongarewa, National Services Te Paerangi, was held at Para Te Hoata marae at Ōhinemutu in mid-June 2024, and was attended by 35 participants representing 27 Te Arawa hapu/iwi.
Rose Evans (Te Atiawa, Tawhiri Kura, Puketapu and European descent), object conservator specialising in taonga Māori, facilitated this wānanga. Rose has worked in the Museum sector for 25 years, most of the time at Te Papa Tongarewa, however for the last 18 years Rose has run her own practice, working as both conservator and exhibition/museum developer across New Zealand.
During the two-day wānanga participants learnt about the make-up of different materials and what causes these materials to react when exposed in the environment or with other elements. They were then taught how to identify deterioration and recognise the causes of damage.
Rose demonstrated simple storage and display solutions and participants were able to safely house their taonga in archival boxes and create internal supports to restrict movement and keep taonga safe.
Here is what some of the participants had to share about this kaupapa:
“Mātauranga exchange and practical application of skills learnt. Whakawhanaungatanga – after [attending] the three previous wānanga I feel like I have made some valuable connections with Manaaki and her team, as well as with the participants and haukainga of every host marae. I enjoyed the whanaungatanga section at the beginning of the wānanga – a lovely way to lean into the mahi.
“The information shared was valuable because we have been using the wrong cleaning agents. Using modern paints that aren’t very good for our taonga.”
This series of wānanga enabled access to Mātanga (Conservators) visiting our rohe and sharing their mātauranga with our whānau to help them care for taonga at home and on the marae. Wānanga covered a range of topics including digitalisation, kākahu (textile & fibre), whāriki (floor coverings), hard materials and archival care.
Whilst participation was free, the commitment for each participant was to return home and share the mātauranga they learnt.
