‘The Sense of Place Project’, Tūrangawaewae, an interactive archive of community narratives and stories to enhance identity, maatauranga maaori and cultural belonging.
I intend in 2022, to undertake practical research and documentation in relation to the significance of community narratives, matauranga maaori and personal stories to enhance the sense of belonging and identity. The intention is to digitally document cultural narratives and historical stories from within the Franklin/Pukekohe community in order to enhance the understanding of the diverse identities/histories of those that live/have lived within this diverse community. These interactive digital archives (audio and visual) will be placed within the fabric of our community (buildings, parks, walkways, places of historical significance, businesses, educational institutes). As a designer, film maker, multi-media artist and educator I have worked on numerous community projects which have documented voices from the past and have highlighted their significance/impact on the past and future. I am interested in providing the opportunity for people of this community to share their personal recollections, cultural narratives, imbedding matauranga maaori and archive them. In turn, these stories will be weaved into the environment, so that people of all ages can interact with augmented reality, digital information technology as they pass through the spaces in which they live. It is important that a community’s narrative is transparent so that people who reside there or are new to the area, gain an important insight into how the community was established, how they can contribute, how they can show awareness and empathy to others within such a multi-cultural, ethnically diverse community as Franklin/Pukekohe. I have a passion for new technologies such as augmented reality and interactive design, which have the capacity for sharing experiences and enhancing the social and educational learning within a community. I envisage numerous interactive information stations throughout the community where people can hear and see local stories being told, see historical places come to life with augmented reality imagery and information. People can follow interactive maps/walks to be created in significant areas where these info stations can be placed. The working title is the ‘The Sense of Place Project our Turangawaewae'.