Te Wānanga o Aotearoa_Toi_Whakairo

Toi Paematua

Whakairo

Level 5
Fees apply
Skills
Te Wānanga o Aotearoa_Toi_Whakairo_Toi Paematua

Tirohanga whānui

Define your carving skills

Toi Paematua: Whakairo is designed for artists ready to expand their carving practice and their creative, cultural, and technical understanding.

This programme focuses on developing carvers as kaitiaki of their kaupapa toi - people who honour the origins, patterns, and symbolism embedded in whakairo.

You’ll refine your:

  • Technical skills

  • Explore traditional and contemporary design

  • Complete a series of guided projects

  • Express your identity and connection to tikanga and whakapapa

Guided by kaiako with expertise in toi Māori, you’ll strengthen your role as a responsible and confident practitioner of whakairo.

He aha tāu ka whiwhi?

Skills you'll leave with

Completing this programme means you’ll be able to:

  • Apply media practices across selected processes

  • Use creative processes to make carved works

  • Plan and manage time, materials and projects to meet brief requirements

  • Analyse the work of other toi practitioners

  • Conduct rangahau (research)

  • Describe the history, tikanga and cultural practices relating to whakairo

Mā te mahi ka ako

Learn by doing

You will get to:

  • Explore your role as a kaitiaki of whakairo

  • Develop your creative processes and practices through reflection and feedback

  • Refine your toi techniques and skills through advanced carving projects

  • Carry out rangahau to support your designs and creative decisions

  • Assist in leading and managing carving projects

  • Use whakairo and kōrero as ways to express yourself and communicate ideas with others

Ngā ara e wātea ana

Pathways

On completion, you'll have the skills to:

Keep studying
Progress into degree-level study in toi Māori.

Use at work
Apply your skills as a practising carver, artist, or cultural practitioner contributing to heritage, restoration, and new carving projects.

Community involvement
Support whānau, hapū, and iwi projects that uphold, restore, or revitalise whakairo as living expressions of Māori identity and culture.

He meka

Quick facts

  • Level 5 (Intermediate)
  • 120 Credits
  • 38 Weeks
  • NZ Diploma in Ngā Toi Level 5
  • Fees apply
  • NZQA Accredited

Paearu whakauru

Entry criteria

You can enrol if you: 

  • Are 16 years or older 

  • Are a NZ citizen or resident (includes Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau) or Australian citizen/permanent resident 

  • Currently reside in New Zealand 

  • Attend an interview with the kaiako

  • Have successfully completed Kāwai Raupapa: Certificate in Māori and Indigenous Art (Level 4) or an equivalent qualification, or provide a portfolio showing relevant creative experience

Te wā

Time commitment

This programme is:  

  • Full-time  

  • 120 credits  

  • 38 weeks long (includes holiday breaks) 

  • Noho-based, with workshops 

Fees & Scholarships

The 2026 fees for this programme are:

  • $2,000 GST inclusive

Kōnae ako

Learning modules

Ki hea, mō āhea hoki au ako ai?

Where and when can I learn?

No classes are currently open for application.

Kaupapa anamata

Upcoming events

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He Puāwaitanga Whirikoka 2026

Graduation Ceremony, Gisborne

Gisborne War Memorial Theatre - 159 Bright Street, Gisborne
Free
Close up of someone wearing a korowai

He Puāwaitanga Ōpōtiki 2026

Graduation Ceremony, Ōpōtiki

Ōpōtiki De Luxe Theatre - 127 Church Street, Ōpōtiki
Free
A woman in graduation robes and a man hongi outside the wharenui

He Puāwaitanga Waihōpai 2026

Graduation Ceremony, Invercargill

Southern Institute of Technology - 133 Tay Street, Invercargill 9810
Free

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