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Te Kōtiu a hit with visitors

MOTAT’s new Aviation Hall immersive experience Te Kōtiu premiered to rave reviews and was hugely popular with visitors over the October school holidays.
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Te Kōtiu (meaning to swoop) showcases the history of flight in Aotearoa and is a digital projection over multiple surfaces including two heroes of the MOTAT collection, the Short Solent and Sunderland.

Surrounded by the sights and sounds of pre-powered flight, through to the latest in aviation and aerospace innovation, visitors are taken on a journey from the migration of the manu kuaka/Godwit birds, to celebrating the growing diversity within the aviation and space industries – including wāhine trailblazers such as Air New Zealand pilots and aerospace start-up engineers.

Senior Exhibitions Content Developer Rachel Bush says the recent Van Gogh Alive and Inside Dali exhibitions are the inspiration for Te Kōtiu. “It incorporates images, film, graphics, a soundscape and voiceover to bring our Collection alive with multi-sensory storytelling.”

Reaction from early visitors has been positive: “Using the planes as a screen is very novel and unique, there are lots of places to look at.” Others commented on the “Moments of digital beauty” and the overall experience: “The movement and atmosphere really elevate the space”.

Visitors were also impressed with the storytelling of the experience: “Beautiful animations, well integrated te reo – so many different stories in a short time.”

Te Kōtiu was developed in collaboration with digital creative agency Waxeye and features the digitised manu aute works of Aotearoa artist Nikau Hindin, among contributions from other knowledge holders. It showcases a wealth of archival material from MOTAT’s collection, bringing history to life.

For more details on how to plan a visit see here.

Rachel Bush and the new experience recently featured in the New Zealand Herald’s Canvas magazine.

Te Kōtiu showcases the history of flight in Aotearoa
Te Kōtiu showcases the history of flight in Aotearoa

For more information please contact MOTAT Communications Manager, Nicole Parish: nicole.parish@motat.org.nz; +64 21 273 3563