POU UARA

Our Values

01

Tuku Māramatanga

The Exchange of Understanding
We are committed to reciprocal learning, sharing, and building collective knowledge. Through tuakana/teina relationships and a responsive approach to the boundaries of knowledge, we expand networks, strengthen connections, and enable shared growth.
02

Manawaroa

Resilience
We pursue deeper knowledge with integrity and autonomy. By creating safe, respectful spaces for open dialogue, we honour contributors, audiences, and methods, strengthening our capacity to adapt and thrive within Aotearoa's textile landscape.
03

Kahupapa

Collective Direction
Our work is purposeful and impactful, guided by clear, deliberate values. We aim to make a meaningful difference while staying adaptable – growing, shifting, and responding to the changing needs of our communities and environment.
04

Whakawhanaungatanga

Collaboration
We build and strengthen relationships, forming meaningful collaborations and expanding networks. Bound to people, place, time, and context, we contribute to and consolidate our role within the wider arts ecosystem.

NGĀ TŪĀPAPA RANGAHAU

Research Themes

01

Tuakiritanga

Identity 
Textile identity is diverse yet interconnected. Through engagement with cultural knowledges, maker-material relationships, and place-based learning, we deepen our understanding of tools and techniques. These practices revitalise and regenerate textiles research, acknowledging a multiplicity of histories and traditions as our foundation.
02

Rau Whakaaro

Composites
We explore the materiality, impact, and function of fibres and textiles. By bringing together technical, functional and biodiverse composites, we unlock purposeful opportunities for innovation and localised design.
03

Tikanga Toi

Methodology
Our adaptable and evolving research and teaching frameworks are layered with prior knowledge and embrace interdisciplinary methods. Through language, practice-based learning, and contemporary techniques, we expand our understanding across disciplines.
04

Whakawhitinga

Intersections
The convergence of textiles, historical and contemporary, with digital and interactive technologies drives innovation and responsiveness. These intersections advance design functionality and speculative potentials, from flexible scaffolds to wearable e-textiles and intelligent systems, opening new pathways for adaptive solutions.

TE WĀHI KI A RAU

Rau grounding

Textiles research at Auckland University of Technology | Te Wānanga Aronui o Tāmaki Makau Rau (AUT) is embedded across schools and disciplines. The evolution of RAU in the School of Art and Design stems from AUT’s Textile and Design Lab (TDL), established in 2006 with the support of Tertiary Education Commission funding under the Government’s Innovation and Pilot Initiative scheme. This initiative fostered a community of textile students, researchers, and industry partners in Aotearoa and across the globe, nurturing a myriad of design practices and textile-based careers.

Building from this foundation, RAU places textiles research at its core, exploring textile practices as a scaffold through which contextual and cultural practices are held.

Ko Ingoa

Our Name

RAU

The name RAU contains layers of meaning, reflecting a mosaic of connections and considerations bound together and intertwined to form a stronger entity.

Intrinsic connection to one another is pertinent within the meaning of this kupu as it presents a multiplicity of translations, analogised as the hundreds of leaves which comprise a tree. In isolation the distinct qualities of each leaf are absolute, but when collated, a new form emerges – carrying with it a library of diverse histories, experiences, kōrero, and traditions.

Here, the kupu rau lends itself to the iho of this kaupapa, and the practice of weaving as various types of fibres, technologies, methods, people, and knowledge become bound as one. We liken this to the act of gathering, collecting, and sourcing information within a research framework to craft a comprehensive and layered narrative of findings. This gathering strengthens and grounds an innate sense of self, belonging, and place as it moves boldly into the future.

We see the presence of rau throughout the passage of time —rau mahara (past), rauhī (present), and raurangi (future) — mirroring the historical and contemporary structures present within textility and research. The very essence of our ingoa, and overarching kaupapa, calls on us to actively respond to these many strands of inherited meaning within their makings, findings, and self.