Sep 8, 2021
Decolonizing One Discipline at a Time, Starting with Heritage Conservation
- 09:00 to 13:00
- Methods Intensive Workshop
- Dept. III
- Dean Sully
In Workshop 1, in partnership with the University of Auckland’s School of Architecture and Planning, we will consider the authorized discourse of heritage conservation and how this is subject to transformation through decolonizing and transcultural practice.
We will examine decolonizing conservation with Hinemihi, the wharenui (Māori meeting house) at Clandon Park, UK/Te Wairoa, Aotearoa, as a case study of a Māori space in a British place. This will describe the performance of Te Ao Māori (the Māori world) of the marae (a communal meeting place) and its role in addressing the legacy of past injustices in the present. We will reflect on the reality of other worlds as a perturbation of established ways of working with Western concepts of heritage.
“[the marae] is where the Pākehā [non-Māori] can meet Māori on Māori terms; to better understand what it means to live in a bicultural society.” (Richardson 1990)
This will lead into a participatory speculative project to co-design a new building for the MPIWG as a wharenui for Berlin. This will consider the ontological reality of indigenous worlds through the imposition of Te Ao Māori onto the everyday life of the MPIWG. This will construct a familiar world inhabited by unfamiliar protocols, language, and processes that you will need “look, listen and learn” in order to navigate. You will be guided through the Māori process (mātauranga Māori) of understanding Māori buildings as living beings, and the implications for caring for these living buildings. This Māori thought experiment will be supported by the digital fabrication of a virtual pōwhiri (welcoming ceremony), as a portal into a Māori world.
Hinemihi, the wharenui (Māori meeting house) at Clandon Park, UK: Hinemihi as a living being.
Hinemihi, the wharenui (Māori meeting house) at Clandon Park, UK: kaitiakitanga (maintenance) of Hinemihi in 2007.
Cross-section of paint sample, showing layers of paint on Hinemihi’s Historic carvings (IsabelI Cardoso).
A painting-by-numbers canvas, a communal artwork painted by Hinemihi’s People at the noho marae in August 2010 (WHAT_architecture).
Digital reconstruction of 1881 painted design, showing segments of the key architectural features (Emilia Ralston).
Click on image above to view gallery
Contact and Registration
Space is limited and prior registration is required. To register, please fill out and email this form to event_dept3@mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de by August 26, 2021.
About This Series
In partnership with the University of Auckland's Department of Architecture.