Strong Wool Speaks
RAU Textiles Research
Pushing the boundaries of textile research from AOTEAROA
Auckland University of Technology
Te Wānanga Aronui o Tāmaki Makau Rau
School of Art & Design
Te Kura Toi a Hoahoa
ARONGA NUI
PURPOSE
He raranga rau tāngata, He rangahau rau kōrero, He rau rangahua ka puta. Woven outcomes through the binding of people, purpose, and possibility.
The grounding concept of this iho is raranga, to weave. The kairaranga (weaver) intertwines not only fibres, but history – binding together narratives and traditions, drawing from the rhythms, patterns, and textures of the taiao. Paired with rangahua – ranga (to search) and hua (as an output of energy) — our kaupapa centres on the gathering of people and their knowledge, stories, and methods across time and disciplines, to shape research and textile innovation.
This iho anchors us in our responsibility to hold these strands of knowledge within the broader context of contemporary textile practice. Each element holds connections to people, time, and ideas – embodying identity and belonging through textile expression. It inspires connections between people, the binding of passions, the layered complexities of research and knowledge and their intrinsic link to the taiao; gathering, weaving, and binding these diverse strands to re-enter the world transformed.
See examples of RAU projects for insight into the materials, contexts, and processes that inform our research.
TUKANGA
PROCESS
Grounded in AUT’s School of Art & Design, RAU researchers draw on material practice, textile technique, and interdisciplinary collaborative methods to expand our collective knowledge.
View RAU’s ongoing activities and events, exploring the practical dimensions of contemporary textile inquiry and innovation.
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These Softly Framed: Narrative Textiles
RAU researchers Finn Godbolt and Arielle Walker are part of exhibition These Softly Framed: Narrative Textiles at Masterworks Gallery, 21 March – 18 April 2026. Curated by Bronwyn Lloyd, These Softly Framed "offers a selected snapshot of contemporary textile practice by nine artists. The exhibition seeks to contextualise and examine the resurgence of textile work in recent years in Aotearoa in which practitioners utilise soft materials and craft techniques such as embroidery, whatu, rug making, knitting, drawn-threadwork, patchwork, and weaving to frame stories about identity, whakapapa, gender, language, mental health, place, as well as the making process itself and the vital part that our hands play in the transformation of materials." With Fran Allison, Megan Brady, Victoria Edin, Finn Godbolt, Katharina Jaeger, Lai Lam, Kurt Payne, May Trubuhovich, and Arielle Walker. Image: Finn Godbolt, Needlework, 2026 (Merino Wool, Cherry Wood; 1700 x 1550 x 200mm) -
RAU Kōrero hour: Finn Godbolt — The Ebbs and Flows of Ornamentation
As part of the RAU Kōrero Hour postgraduate lunchtime sessions, Finn Goldbolt presented his research The Ebbs and Flows of Ornamentation: Intersections Between Politics, Technology and Craft, exploring the historical cycles of ornamentation in Western menswear to examine how political movements, industrial technologies, and shifting ideas of masculinity contributed to the decline of decorative dress. Through practice-led experimentation with digital knitting technologies, the research reinterprets historical garment features to explore how contemporary textile production can reintroduce expressive ornamentation into menswear. -
Welcome back — Semester One, 2026
Semester One in the School of Art and Design is in full swing for 2026, and the RAU Textiles Facility has been humming with activity as familiar faces return and new students join us for the first time. Finn and Dan have been busy inducting students from across the School — including Fashion, Experimental Surfaces, Spatial, Visual Arts, and Postgrad — into the RAU Facility processes, and welcoming our regular users back into the fold. We are all looking forward to seeing their making ideas unfold over the coming weeks. -
2025 Lexus Design Award
The RAU team were excited to support our students at the 2025 Lexus Design Award this week! Now in its sixth year, the Award received 90 submissions from students across four universities: Auckland University of Technology, University of Auckland, Massey University of Wellington and Victoria University of Wellington, with two showcases across Te Whanganui-a-Tara and Tāmaki. A huge congratulations to all the student entries, and especially to AUT winner Oliver Lloyd, with winning project Roll a Rat (a"flat-pack biodegradable rat bait station that controls invasive rodents while dispersing native seeds to regenerate ecosystems"), and AUT runner-up Christine Botha for NiraFlow (a "greywater filter using wool to capture microplastics, protecting both human health and the environment"). -
AUT RAU Textiles Research Facility opening
RAU researchers Finn Godbolt and Arielle Walker are part of exhibition These Softly Framed: Narrative Textiles at Masterworks Gallery, 21 March – 18 April 2026. Curated by Bronwyn Lloyd, These Softly Framed "offers a selected snapshot of contemporary textile practice by nine artists. The exhibition seeks to contextualise and examine the resurgence of textile work in recent years in Aotearoa in which practitioners utilise soft materials and craft techniques such as embroidery, whatu, rug making, knitting, drawn-threadwork, patchwork, and weaving to frame stories about identity, whakapapa, gender, language, mental health, place, as well as the making process itself and the vital part that our hands play in the transformation of materials."
With Fran Allison, Megan Brady, Victoria Edin, Finn Godbolt, Katharina Jaeger, Lai Lam, Kurt Payne, May Trubuhovich, and Arielle Walker.
Image: Finn Godbolt, Needlework, 2026 (Merino Wool, Cherry Wood; 1700 x 1550 x 200mm)
As part of the RAU Kōrero Hour postgraduate lunchtime sessions, Finn Goldbolt presented his research The Ebbs and Flows of Ornamentation: Intersections Between Politics, Technology and Craft, exploring the historical cycles of ornamentation in Western menswear to examine how political movements, industrial technologies, and shifting ideas of masculinity contributed to the decline of decorative dress. Through practice-led experimentation with digital knitting technologies, the research reinterprets historical garment features to explore how contemporary textile production can reintroduce expressive ornamentation into menswear.
Semester One in the School of Art and Design is in full swing for 2026, and the RAU Textiles Facility has been humming with activity as familiar faces return and new students join us for the first time. Finn and Dan have been busy inducting students from across the School — including Fashion, Experimental Surfaces, Spatial, Visual Arts, and Postgrad — into the RAU Facility processes, and welcoming our regular users back into the fold. We are all looking forward to seeing their making ideas unfold over the coming weeks.
The RAU team were excited to support our students at the 2025 Lexus Design Award this week! Now in its sixth year, the Award received 90 submissions from students across four universities: Auckland University of Technology, University of Auckland, Massey University of Wellington and Victoria University of Wellington, with two showcases across Te Whanganui-a-Tara and Tāmaki. A huge congratulations to all the student entries, and especially to AUT winner Oliver Lloyd, with winning project Roll a Rat (a"flat-pack biodegradable rat bait station that controls invasive rodents while dispersing native seeds to regenerate ecosystems"), and AUT runner-up Christine Botha for NiraFlow (a "greywater filter using wool to capture microplastics, protecting both human health and the environment").
