Matariki 2025: Art light trail showcasing local creators snakes through Auckland city centre

NZ Herald

19-06-2025

The trail begins on Upper Queen St on the corner of Mayoral Drive, leading into Myers Park along a stairway designed by Tessa Harris (Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki) with patterns depicting pātiki to discover the captivating light and sounds of Waimahara.
Waimahara asks people to remember Te Waihorotiu, the stream that flows quietly beneath the underpass.
Commissioned by Auckland Council, this permanent multi-sensory artwork – by Graham Tipene (Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Hauā, Ngāti Manu), technology experts IION, skilled Māori composers and creatives – is just the beginning.
Te Ara Rama Matariki Light Trail. Photo / Glenn Iness
Step 2: Tūrama and Taurima
Upon returning to Queen St, Tūrama will begin to unfold. A series of art installations tells ancient stories of place as you walk towards the sea.
First, participants will see Horotiu, a 9m kaitiaki who symbolically guards the ancestral river, greeting the waharoa in Aotea Square, by celebrated artist Selwyn Murupaenga.
This area carries the historic ngā tapuwae o ngā mana o te whenua, who thrived in this space for hundreds of years.
Turama Kaitiaki.
Manu Korokī will be next. Inspired by the works of revered ringa whao Fred Graham, flocks of manu take flight on opposite sides of Queen St with an accompanying audio track mimicking their birdsong.
Kāhu Kōrako will be visible high in the crosswires, representing an older kāhu whose plumage has lost the dark colouring of youth and whose feathers have turned grey.
Lights, music, and more are on offer in Auckland this Matariki. Photo / Auckland Council
Turn left into the historic Strand Arcade, and Taurima will shine among the trees on Elliot St.
With symbolism of pātaka kai suspended above the street in quirky fluoro-neon art created by Lissy Robinson-Cole (Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Hine), Rudi Robinson-Cole (Waikato, Ngāruahine, Ngāti Pāoa, Te Arawa), Ataahua Papa (Ngāti Koroki, Kahukura, Ngāti Mahuta), and Angus Muir Design, you will be immersed in the history of this space and place.
Taurima. Photo / Jay Farnwoth
Heading back to Queen St along Victoria St, look back along this unique viewshaft to the Sky Tower and you will see a bespoke Māori art projected on to the city's biggest canvas.
While walking towards the harbour, a Kawau Tikitiki will be suspended in flight above the street, acknowledging this bird's revered constancy of purpose, resolute nature and speed of action.
Upon reaching the original foreshore between Shortland and Fort Sts, participants will walk beneath the majestic Te Wehenga, where illuminated imagery will evolve from whenua to moana.
The role of waharoa in Māori architectural tradition marks the junction of realms, a transition point where something changes; where you will feel you are leaving something behind and progressing into something new.
Tūrama was created by Graham Tipene, Ataahua Papa and Angus Muir Design, with support from Auckland Council and the city centre targeted rate.
Tūrama Te Wehenga. Photo / Jay Farnworth
Step 3: Tūhono
The downtown section of the Matariki light trail begins at Te Komititanga, the square that features permanent works of whāriki where Queen St meets the sea.
Tūhono is an all-new trail of light installations and lightboxes linking Te Kōmititanga along Galway St to Takutai Square and Māhuhu ki te Rangi Park.
Artist Arama Tamariki-Enua – Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, Tumu-te-Varovaro (Rarotonga), Ara'ura (Aitutaki) – has blended tradition with contemporary design. He invigorates ancestral rhythms and motifs with modern arrangements of vibrant colours, introducing an immersive journey for all to experience.
In Takutai Square, Tamariki-Enua worked with Angus Muir and Catherine Ellis on a light and sound installation using patterns that reference tukutuku panels and carving in Tumutumuwhena, with the repetition of the patterns forming the star-like shapes of the Matariki cluster.
Matariki trails include light installations, kapa haka, and street markets in the city centre.
An accompanying soundscape, developed in collaboration with Peter Hobbs, brings back sounds of the foreshore and forest before the modern city was founded. The works are projected on to Te Rou Kai, the public artwork made up of a pop-jet fountain and 16 sculptural stones by an older generation of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei artists.
Tamariki-Enua's creation encourages reflection on what is now and what was then.
The Tūhono light projections in Takutai Square will play every evening from Thursday, June 19, to Thursday, July 10, with a seven-minute light and sound sequence every quarter-hour from 5pm until 10pm.
Tūhono takes the form of a metaphoric waka, drawing a visual and spiritual line toward Takaparawhau, the Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei ancestral stronghold where Tumutumuwhenua, their whare tupuna, proudly stands.
Immerse yourself in modern mahi toi (art) and a lightshow within Takutai Square, stroll among the illuminated mature trees of Beach Rd, marvel at a 10-storey laser projection on to the Nesuto building and fun light designs within Te Tōangaroa, including Te Mātahi o te Tau by Tyrone Ohia and Angus Muir Design.
Tūhono and these new downtown activations for Matariki are brought to Matariki ki te Manawa in the city centre by Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei and Britomart Group, with support from Auckland Council and the city centre targeted rate.
Te Hui Ahurei o Matariki – Matariki Festival Day
Aucklanders can experience kapa haka, waiata, carving demonstrations, raranga (weaving) activations, kite making, stories, art and an insight into special waterways at the Botanic Gardens as part of Matariki Festival Day.
Festivities will begin at 10am and last until 4pm.
Auckland Transport has put on a free park and ride service for the festival.
The main departure point will be the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1185 Alfriston Rd, Alfriston.
If the church carpark reaches capacity, additional parking is available directly across the road at Alfriston College, 540 Porchester Rd.
Buses will run continuously on a loop between 9.45am and 4.45pm.
The last bus to leave the garden will be at 4.45pm, and the garden gates will lock at 5.30pm.