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Regional | Arts

Kaitī students witness live tā moko in classroom

Year 5 and 6 pupils at Kaitī School in Gisborne got to experience their first live tā moko session inside the classroom.

Tā moko artist Steve Smith paid a visit to the school to give them an authentic experience as part of their module on tā moko.

Kahlan Spraggs says, “It's like the best thing in the world seeing that and to me tā moko it retells the life of the people you know and love.”

Students also got to create their own designs. It's a first for the school and a first for local tā moko artist Steve Smith.

“I enjoyed it being here with them and being able to share.  Moko's not just for me, it's for them it's for everybody so that's why I'm here really,” said Smith.

Witnessing the process from start to finish is about opening up the students eyes. Teacher Rick Paenga says, “So planting seeds for their future employment, and maybe studies so it wasn't just art for art’s sake it was providing an opportunity for some real authentic learning to happen.”

For all their hard work, students were given a temporary design from the artist.