"At the Otago Polytechnic’s School of Design, we aim to foster positive bicultural thinking through the development of dual visual literacies. With cultural competency in mind, our visual communication programme enables learners to explore indigenous (Māori) culture in various ways, including aspects of symbolism, ritual and ancestral connections. This approach addresses our responsibility as treaty partners as well as an expectation for designers to use their craft to promote “cross-cultural understanding” and a “sense of belonging” (McGuiness, 2020).
To share our insights, we present two case studies that illustrate techniques used to develop capabilities around cultural visual expression in Aotearoa New Zealand. The first looks at efforts to develop Māori visual literacy by connecting students with place, through the practice of interactive visual journalling. The second focuses on the application of evolving knowledge to an event celebrating a Māori-observed phenomenon called Matariki, which has discernible parallels to Día de los Muertos. "
