Design Education through Indigenous Design
Date posted: Thursday 2 Jun 2011
Expanding Design Education through Indigenous Design
Dr. Pi'ikea Clark will address how Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi University is attempting to expand design education through indigenous knowledge and a focus on social, educational, economic and cultural sustainability and the needs of indigenous communities.
This is a free public lecture.
- Date: Friday 3rd June
- Time: 1PM
- Location: Lecture Theatre (PA309), PA Building, Prahran Campus, 144 High Street, Prahran
About Dr. Pi'ikea Clark
Dr. Herman Pi’ikea Clark is an Associate Professor and interim director of the Tokorau Institute for Indigenous Innovation at Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi, one of the three indigenous universities that have been established in New Zealand.
With backgrounds in Design, Visual Art and Education, Dr. Clark teaches Indigenous/Pacific cultural perspectives in Design studies while contributing to the development of indigenous design theory and methodologies for research and professional practice.
Born and raised in Hawaii, Dr. Clark completed a B.A. in Hawaiian Studies and a Master’s of Fine Art in Visual Communication Design from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He initiated the first courses in Kanaka Maoli/Indigenous Hawaiian visual art/design studies to be taught within the University of Hawaii system. Dr. Clark later joined the faculty of Applied Art and Design at Northtec in Whangarei, New Zealand in 1999 where he implemented Maori and Pacific cultural philosophy into instruction within the Design program. His doctoral study, completed in 2006 at Massey University in New Zealand, focused on the intersection of indigenous knowledge and design processes as an educational approach.
A practicing designer and artist, Herman Pi’ikea Clark has exhibited internationally with his artwork and design commissions housed in both private and public collections in Hawaii, North America and the Pacific. Together with his wife Norfolk Island artist Sue Pearson, Herman Pi’ikea Clark established ‘Pili,’ a Fine Art and Design practice that specializes in the contemporary visual expression of Pacific culture and indigenous identity.
