Arts and Education Research Seminar Series

Event Details:

Date: Thursday, 7 August 2025

Time: 5 - 6pm

Location: Lecture Theatre 4 (206-220), Building 206, 14A Symonds Street

Topic: The Dance of Transdisciplinary Research: A place where only the Embodied Arts dare venture

Within research, transdisciplinary arts research fosters a paradigm shift in scholarly inquiry, moving beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries to address complex, multifaceted problems that can reveal innovative and holistic solutions. This performative lecture will reflect upon Dr Tia Reihana’s current research projects and processes, in collaboration with researchers from distinct fields, as well as the active involvement of non-academic stakeholders, including artists, community members, and policymakers in Aotearoa, Turtle Island (United States of America), Hawai’i, and the United Kingdom.

In particular, Tia will talk about The Tīpuna Project, a creative, community-based collaboration between Māori and Pākehā researchers, artists, and activists in Aotearoa, navigating the decolonial possibilities of bringing tīpuna (ancestors both human and more than human) into the research process as active co-researchers for community healing; Teaching Oceania, a practice-led, place-based transdisciplinary project bringing Mana Oceania academics, professional and community-based creatives together investigating culturally relevant, safe and embodied teaching and learning pedagogies; Te Kanikani o Te Rangatahi and Taiao Dance Theatre Māori Contemporary Dance involving the restoration of archival cultural taonga (treasures) to re-tell histories and the socio-political influence of Māori performing arts; and most recently the UK Council funded project Kia mau ki te tokanga nui a noho, (there is no place like home), arts residency, working with local Arts and community organisations for environmental awareness in Bristol, The United Kingdom.

Tia will discuss how these projects have fostered transdisciplinary research that acknowledges how knowledge is not confined to academic disciplines but also embedded in lived experiences, artistic practices, and community knowledge systems.

Presenter Bio

Dr Tia Reihana (Ngāti Hine) is an educator, researcher, and creative practitioner with over 30 years of experience across the arts, education, and health sectors in Aotearoa and internationally. She is recognised for her leadership in intercultural collaboration, Indigenous-led pedagogy, and community-centred arts practice.

Tia is a Senior Lecturer in Ngā Akoranga Kanikani Dance Studies and is a Co-Director of the Centre for Co-Created Ageing Research (CREATE-AGE). Her teaching and research focus on Indigenous methodologies, curriculum development, postgraduate supervision, and mentoring Māori and Pacific scholars. Through CREATE-AGE, she leads transdisciplinary projects that integrate arts, health, and education to support intergenerational wellbeing.

She has contributed to national initiatives, including the Ministry of Education's ‘Creatives in Schools’ programme, and designed Toi Rongoā programmes with ACC and Ara Poutama Aotearoa (Department of Corrections), centring hauora and culturally responsive practice in health and corrections contexts.

Internationally, Tia’s practice-led research spans North America, Australia, and the Pacific. As a choreographer and researcher, her work engages the interface between land, memory, and movement, drawing on lived experience and embodied storytelling to address colonial histories and Indigenous sovereignty.