I te tau 2022, i tohua a Whanganui hei Tāone Hoahoa a UNESCO, ā, i hono atu a Whanganui ki ngā tāone 246 huri noa i te ao, kei roto i te Tūhononga Tāone Hoahoa. Ko te mana hou nei e whakaatu ana i ngā takoha o mua, me ngā utanga o nāianei o te tāone, inā te whānui, inā te hohonu. Arā, ko ngā kaihoahoa o tēnā whānau, o tēnā hapū, me ngā mahi auaha kei ngā tahatika o te Awa, neke atu i te 800 tau, tae atu ki ngā kaihoahoa o muri nei, nā rātau i hanga i ngā whare nui o tēnei tāone, me te tini o ngā kaihoahoa me ngā ringa toi e mahi ana i konei ināianei.

Ko ngā āhuatanga hoahoa ka whakaaturia, he mea whakaatu i ngā taonga tuku iho, te whānuitanga, me te oati ki ngā reanga o āpōpō mai. Ko ētehi o ngā taonga me ā rātau kōrero e mōhiotia whānuitia ana, ko ētehi ka mau ki roto i ō rātau ake hapori. Ka whakanui tahi nei ko te mahi me te wairua auaha, i te ahurea pono, i te kaha o ngā mahi toi, o ngā mahi hoahoa i tēnei rohe tonu.

In 2022 Whanganui was designated a UNESCO City of Design, joining 246 cities around the world in a Creative Cities Network. This new status reflects the city’s historic and contemporary contributions to design in innumerable and varied forms. These range from Māori designers’ artistry and innovation alongside the awa for more than 800 years, to the imaginative architects who created the city’s famed buildings. They include the many designers and artists working here now.

The design showcased here reflects this eclectic and wide-ranging legacy and the promise for the future. Some of these objects and stories are well known and some are remembered only within their communities. Together they highlight the creativity, innovative spirit, cultural integrity, and strength of the tradition of art and design in this region.