Description:

‘We were Always’ aims to show young pacific people that their ancestors were always Scientists, Technologists, Engineers, Artists and Mathematicians, and that by studying STEAM subjects they can carry that legacy into the future.

A project for The Ministry of Education, we worked with Auckland Museum and Te Papa’s cultural teams to identify a tool or technology from different Pacific island nations that related to one of the STEAM subjects.

Through this process we identified and selected;
Science - Tongan coconut oil
Technology - the Rebbelib stick chart from the Marshall Islands
Engineering - the hand pump drilling tool, the Vilivili from Tokelau
Art - traditional Samoan Tatau
Mathematics - Tafuliae, the shell money of the Langalanga people of the Solomon islands

From here we determined the shape of the campaign; a video and poster series that would focus on each of these. We worked with the Ministry of Education to find five pacific young people, each tracing their heritage to the island with an interest in their respective subject. We photographed each of them and showed them looking optimistically towards their future.

Through illustrations woven into these images, we told the story of their ancestors and this piece of technology emerging from their clothing. With photography representing the present, and illustration representing their past, we were able to show them wearing their heritage like a cloak, carrying forward the skills and knowledge of their ancestors into their future.

These posters were then distributed to schools and feature a QR code that allows students to access videos that explain the story that the poster hero represents. Videos could also be accessed via the Ministry of Education website.

These animated videos, created for each subject, aimed to connect young people with these stories. With a sweeping camera flying through illustrated images, a voice over and an evocative sound design helps to bring these ideas to life in the imagination of the viewer.

A team of pacific artists worked on the project, including our senior graphic designer, account manager, illustrator, backgrounds artist, colourist and our voice over artist. This process aimed to empower those involved to draw from their own cultural knowledge and imbue that into the project with care and authenticity. In doing so it also created space for talanoa and Pacific ways of working.