The Fabulous Placemaking
Award of Aotearoa
The Kūmara Awards is on a mission to celebrate fabulous placemaking projects happening across Aotearoa, so that anyone can experience a better connection to place, learn more about community and get inspired to make their own projects. Big or small, permanent or temporary, many kinds of placemaking projects can win a Kūmara Award!
Nominations for 2024 have ended. Check out the long list and short list on our social media ;)
Let’s celebrate great placemaking projects
of the past year together in 2024!
The Kūmara Awards have been happening since 2020. Led by 3 local organisations, Catalyse, Gap Filler and Hutt City Council, more than 250 projects have been nominated with 35 winning a Kūmara Award and more than 10 others receiving a Loud Hurrah Award.
23 people have volunteered as judges in the Tāmaki Makaurau, Te Panepane o te Ika and Ōtautahi (wider Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch) regions.
Following feedback in 2022, the Kūmara Awards will now be held in February of each year. Starting in 2024. Join in!
So, what are the Kūmara Awards?
The Kūmara Awards are a celebration of projects that have made a positive difference to life in public places. Nominated by people from all walks of life, the Kūmara Awards showcase and encourage placemaking initiatives and remind us that both big and small changes have the potential to uplift a place and the people in it.
The Kūmara Awards are also a platform for highlighting meaningful transformation and impactful change that is experienced positively by communities in public spaces.
And the Kūmara Awards are a community of people who care enough to act. We all have some power to change a place and to nominate projects that have made a difference!
How do we handpick all these wonderful projects?
We don’t you do!
Some people create a great project that changes a place for the best
You notice it and nominate it to share your appreciation of the project
1. Mā te haukāinga hei tūāpapa ki te ao tūroa /
It Takes a Village - is all about collaboration
2. Ahakoa he iti, ko tōna painga ka puawaitia /
From Little Things Big Things Grow - small changes can make an impact
3. Kei tua atu i te kaupapa /
Beyond the brief - physical spaces that are more than what is expected or required
4. Ngā akoranga i muri, hei tūāpapa ki ngā mahi ki mua /
Looking Back to Move Forward - highlighting experiences of culture in our places
5. Tiakina te whenua, ka manaakitia te tangata /
Caring For the Land, Caring For the People - nature is the focus here
We write it up and give it a category:
Then we send it to our wonderful judges - they score it. Anonymously and generously to create a shortlist
You’ll see the shortlist published on Facebook
Judges meet, talk and make final decisions..
Winners are announced!
We give awards
and celebrate together!
Meet the Judges 2024
Tāmaki Makarau • Auckalnd • Tāmaki Makarau
Eric Thompson
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Eric has been a practicing designer for over 30 years. He holds a Master of Design from Massey University and has worked in tertiary education for the past 14 years in various teaching and senior management roles.
Eric started his design career working at numerous agencies before establishing his own design practice in London for eight years. Returning to New Zealand Eric has worked at Massey University, the Media Design School, in Australia at the Billy Blue College of Design and Torrens University and The NewSchool of Architecture & Design in San Diego before joining Whitecliffe College.
He has presented most recently at VIVID Sydney and the International Design Conference in Brisbane; and is a published author at Harper Collins. His personal passion in the design space is ‘a sense of place and place making’ and has worked on place branding projects for Helensville, Wellsford and Matakana Coast and Country.
Damian Powley
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Whatungarongaro te tangata toitū te whenua.
As we (people) disappear from sight, the land remains.
I always remind myself of this whakatauki when conceptualising our role as designers and shapers of the land, and our role is to dig deeper, develop and build layers towards recognising and celebrating our moment in time. A lot of what I do is around connecting and involving people into the design process for. Honouring community throughout that process is important because they are the ones that live there.
‘The skill of a good designer is being able to spot the diamonds in the rough garnered from active participation in the design process.
‘And you know, for each and every project we do, it constantly fascinates me — how we can uncover our inherent connections between people and place. It wasn’t until I started to learn a bit more about my taha Māori side, that I found there’s not just synergies between Te Ao Māori and design approaches to the land — good design is one and the same. And we do have an inherently unique story to tell here in Aotearoa.’
Lucy Tukua
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Kaihautū Whakarito - Technical Director Regenerative Outcomes and Senior Leadership at Mott MacDonald, Ngāti Paoa Iwi Trust Board, and so much more!
Lucy Tukua, Ngāti Tahinga, Ngāti Paoa and Ngāti Whanaunga, is passionately active in the progress and development of whānau, hapū and Iwi. Through her consultancy NativebyNature and her current role, she has and continues to be instrumental in protecting and advocating for mana motuhake, identity and self-determination through storying of place, acknowledging that from an indigenous perspective placemaking is incongruent to what we understand, i.e. #PlaceMakesUs. We are our pepeha and our pepeha is us. Our environment is akin to our mokopuna – we are reflected back in our places and spaces.
Edward Peni
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Edward Peni is a Placemaker with Eke Panuku Development Auckland having worked across several locations across Auckland and a strong focus on connecting creative arts and communities. A few of the projects that he has enabled are the Avondale Great North Gallery with I Love Avondale, Te Pūtahi Auaha with Dr Bobby Hung aka Berst and Bike Avondale Night Ride which saw record attendance in 2023.
Penny Hulse MNZM
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As a longtime (now retired) city councillor I use my experience to support communities to take charge of their own futures. As a grandmother I work to help secure more sustainable, resilient and hopeful futures for our rangatahi.
Yana Kirakovskaya
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Being a Russian Kiwi, Yana worked in creative international across the world, delivered over 50 creative campaigns for world famous brands such as Nestle, Disney, Bacardi, Nokia, Cirque du Soleil, Penguin Random House. That professional experience inspired Yana to start her own business Papaya Stories that she founded in 2015. In her work she likes to explore the interconnection of disciplines and see how creative practices such as arts and play, storytelling and psychology can improve and enrich people's lives.
Yana is the brain behind multiple interactive placemaking activations such as award-winning interactive city adventures known as Silent Disco Citywalk®, Immersive series of themed parties - Secret Party Quest, gastronomy theatrical series - Dining Out with World Icons.
Emma-Jane Ormsby
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Emma-Jane Ormsby, an artist born in 2001 in Hamilton, New Zealand, is known for her multidisciplinary work encompassing sculpture, photography, digital arts, textiles, and painting. Her art, deeply rooted in Te Ao Māori, explores themes of colonization, identity, and feminism. Emma employs Kaupapa Māori methodology, creating collaborative pieces that strive for cultural education and re-indigenization, reflecting her urban upbringing and Māori heritage.
John Sutton
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Having worked with local government and community initiatives/groups for over 10 years, John brings his experience in developing and delivering projects/outcomes. John has a generalist approach to the work, understanding the broad landscape of a project, and can confidently see the big picture, as well as drill down to a micro level.
As Managing Director of Fresh Concept, John manages key stakeholder relationships while ensuring bespoke outcomes are delivered on time, within budget, and to the highest level. John leads a multidisciplinary team with a range of expertise from design, workshop facilitation and strategy, through to on the ground delivery of activations and events.
Paris Kirby
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Meet Paris Kirby, a passionate advocate for vibrant communities and the newly appointed Placemaking and Community Engagement Lead at Fletcher Living. With a Master of Design from the University of Auckland, Paris is a recognized thought leader in placemaking, urbanism, and community development in Aotearoa.
As the founder and director of Social Ritual for over a decade, Paris empowered diverse communities, activated public spaces, and led community-driven initiatives across Tamaki Makaurau. Her commitment to fostering local leadership, bi-cultural partnerships, regenerative design and arts and culture integration reflects her dedication to genuinely empowering people to be active and engaged citizens.
Te Upoko o Te Ika a Māui • Greater Wellington • Te Upoko o Te Ika a Māui
Josephine Clark
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Josephine, the Māori Design Advisor at Wellington City Council since August 2023, is eager to make a significant contribution. She is a co-chair of Nga Aho and a NZIA Registered Landscape Architect. With over 10 years of experience in landscape architecture and cultural advising, she has demonstrated a consistent dedication to connecting with local iwi in their place. Having contributed to supporting iwi to enhance mauri of Taiao throughout the North Island through her experience, Josephine is committed to instilling, inspiring, into development, teaching, and training of rangatahi. Ready to explore, develop, and learn, she's excited about her role in supporting Mana Whenua in Te Upoko o Te Ika a Maui and their goal to re-indigenise the city.
Miriam Moore
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Miriam (Tainui, Ngāti Mahuta) is an urban designer, who has worked both in Tāmaki Makaurau and Pōneke, where she is now based with Boffa Miskell. Her work spans across spatial planning, preparing design guidance, and reimagining streets as places for people. Miriam is interested in designing inclusive and sustainable urban centres and getting more people moving on foot and by bike. She believes community-led initiatives are key to making urban places thrive. She is also interested in the role of planning and design at a governance level and is an elected member on the Tawa Community Board.
Abbie McKoy
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Abbie McKoy is the Manager of Community Engagement and Partnerships at Kainga Ora - Homes and Communities. Her team looks after community spaces in the Wellington region, working in partnership to activate them for the good of social housing customers and the wider community. She brings experience in placemaking, urban planning, and experiential engagement. She has led some significant local projects including launching Porirua City Council's Harbours Edge Pop Up, Ministry for the Environments Our Climate Future travelling exhibition, and most recently Te Ra Nui's Hui tahi tatou o Porirua experiential engagement.
Sam Dickie
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Meet Sam Dickie, Play advocate extraordinaire! 🎭✨ I’m on a mission to turn the world into a play space and every day into a playful adventure. 🌈🤹♂️
With a pocket full of puns and a heart full of playfulness, I navigate through the mundane of bureaucracy and turn it into a carnival of colors. From building resilience through play streets to reimagining cinderblock facilities, I've got the playbook for turning moments into masterpieces.
Have you gone beyond the ordinary? Let’s celebrate your awesomeness with the world one kumara vine at a time🎉🤸♀️
Aaron Miller
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Aaron Miller is a senior designer at Isthmus Group and has worked on a number of award-winning projects around Te Whanganui-a-Tara, often bridging the gap between architecture and landscape. Aaron has a true passion for placemaking and strives to create amazing spaces for people to thrive and enjoy in his work, spanning across transport infrastructure, public space rejuvenation, sculptural design outcomes, housing, and tactical interventions. He is currently helping lead the urban design for Te Ara Tupua ensuring this project will provide spaces and experiences for people to enjoy along this future active transport corridor.
Ōtautahi • Christchurch • Ōtautahi
Prof. Simon Kingham
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Simon is a UC professor in the School of Earth and Environment. His research primarily focuses on the impact of the urban environment on health and wellbeing, with with a particular focus on transport, community and streetscape. Much of his research uses geospatial science including some done through the GeoHealth Laboratory, of which he is the Director. His research is generally applied and carried out with end users with a strong community engagement focus. He is also seconded two days a week to the Ministry of Transport as their Chief Science Advisor, where he advises the Ministry on the evidence base of government policy.
Wilby Le Heux
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Wilby is passionate about creating opportunities to help neighbours connect with each other in Ōtautahi. Over the past 8 years he has developed skills in facilitating community-led development in community garden spaces and youth spaces. Within the community you will find him in the marā kai growing kamo kamo, tomatoes, and other heirloom veges.
Addington Farm won The Kūmara Award 2022!
Daisy Lavea Timo
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Daisy has spent over 15 years working in the education, youth and government sectors as an educator, youth worker, engagement practitioner and facilitator (IAP2). She founded Cross-Polynate with a desire to combine a team of Avengers to improve outcomes for people and communities across the motu and Moana-Nui-A-Kiwa.
Daisy is a proud wife and mum. She’s also the 2017 New Zealand Slam Poetry Champion, a 2020 Creative New Zealand NZ Leadership Scholar, has spoken and performed internationally, has a few degrees from the University of Canterbury and dabbles in Rugby League.
Christine Lane
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Christine Lane, with over 22 years in Community Development, is deeply connected to Christchurch. Inspired by her grandfather, a former Lyttelton Mayor, she engaged in significant local projects from a young age. At 17, Christine co-founded the Waltham Youth Trust, championing community engagement through placemaking. Her career spans local government roles in New Zealand and Australia, focusing on placemaking education and project implementation. Passionate about social enterprise, she co-authored a book on its history in Christchurch for a global forum.
Solomon Smith
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Sol has 25 years’ experience working with and in communities through both paid and voluntary roles. This has been achieved through working in NGO, Local Government and now Government organisations. He lead the establishment of Rugby League Samoa, South Island and the South Islands biggest grassroots, Community & Pacific event - The Christchurch Pacific Series. In 2019 Sol established a community arts and creative space in Rowley (Hoon Hay), Christchurch, called th’Orchard. His voluntary roles have included executive and membership roles on several boards. After 13 awesome years with the Christchurch City Council, Sol then worked for Stats NZ in a Community Engagement Advisory role for Census 2023 and now works for Kainga Ora as a Stakeholder Relationship Manager.
Are you curious? Have any questions?
Want to run the Kūmara Awards in your place?
Or maybe have a good joke? Tell us!
‘There’s not a lot we can ask for in terms of being awarded (for our work), and the Kūmara Awards is our very first step in being able to do that.’
– Kelly Marie Francis, Whenua Warrior and 2023 Winner
It feels really great to get this support and recognition, and that we are valuable enough to (the community.)
– Pascal Gillies, Gribblehirst Hub and 2023 Winner
The more that the Kūmara vine sings the more that people are going to do these types of initiatives and the community will have more of an appetite for it too.
– Bea Enriques, Gear up Play Portals, 2021 Kūmara Awards Winner
Yeah, we have a smile on our face. What we are trying to do is make a better future for all, and that’s serious work. But if you can do it with a sense of joy and fun and play, then your heart’s in it.
– Frith Walker, Head of Placemaking at Eke Panuku Development Auckland
