Kaiti Aki
Waitangi Day Festival t-shirt design 2012
Waitangi Day Festival t-shirt design 2012
Kia ora!
Waitangi Day is a national holiday here in New Zealand, that celebrates the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi between Māori and Pakeha on the 6th of February, 1840. It is the foundation of our nation.
For the last 12 years, Ka Pai Kaiti have marked this day with a 'family day' festival. Adults and children can come along and join in the summer activities, be entertained, and now, have a t-shirt printed for a gold coin donation.
This design is a play on the words Kaitiaki, Kaiti, and Aki. Kaitiaki means guardian, Kaiti is the name of the suburb we all love to be, and Aki means to encourage. The Chairman of the Ka Pai Kaiti Trust, Mr. Josh Wharehinga, came up with this ingenious quip and left the rest to me.
The little taniwha face is inspired by the carvings at Te Poho O Rawiri Marae, an ancestral marae for Ngati Oneone, here in Kaiti. I named this little character Haki the Kaiti Aki!
There are more photos of this design on my website. The main colour print is for sale through Fotomoto.
The following images show the colour design, a photograph of the screen, printed t-shirts for volunteers and two of our Ka Pai Kaiti whanau wearing the shirts on the day!
Nga mihi!
