2026 Symposium – Haerenga / Journeys

Haerenga / Journeys

8 – 10 May 2026, Whanganui Regional Museum

The 2026 symposium took place 8-10 May in Whanganui, New Zealand’s only UNESCO City of Design, our first symposium in Whanganui.

The symposium was based at the Whanganui Regional Museum in Pukenamu Queen’s Park, the cultural heart of Whanganui, with visits to the Sarjeant Art Gallery and other venues alongside.

Maud Brown, ‘Wanganui River’, 1891. Te Papa PC000832

about Haerenga / Journeys

‘The awa is always flowing and evolving. It starts from a single mātāpuna (source/wellspring) and gradually builds momentum and shape. It grows and is fed by many tributaries. It moves with intent and purpose, adapting and changing based on the conditions, until it reaches its destination. Much like the awa, design follows a similar journey, over time shaping the environment around it, and nourishing the people.’
Extended Whānau Sons & Co, Whanganui UNESCO City of Design, Best Award, 2025

This year’s theme, Haerenga / Journeys, was inspired by the history of our host city, Whanganui, which has been shaped and sustained by its famous awa (river) over generations.

In 2017, the Whanganui River was recognised as Te Awa Tupua, a legal person, in acknowledgment of the awa as a living and sacred entity. In 2021, Whanganui was designated as a UNESCO City of Design in recognition of its historic and contemporary contributions to art and creativity, from Māori innovators who worked alongside the awa for more than 800 years, to the city’s visionary architects, industrialists and manufacturers (including many working in clothing and textiles), and current community of makers. Whanganui is a vibrant city in which the layers of its history are palpable.

We asked for presentations that explored dress and textiles in relation to journeys through place and time, including wellsprings, tributaries and destinations. Themes could include, but were not limited to the following:

• Place-based dress and textiles
• Tūrangawaewae / a sense of place
• Whakapapa
• Local / global
• Time
• Currents
• Journeymen
• Travel
• Forces – natural, social and / or cultural – that shape dress and textile histories
• Trade / trade routes
• Ka mua, ka muri / walking backwards into the future
• Traces / palimpsests / layers
• Design journeys
• Well-being

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