Awhiworld

A parallel universe uncovered through transdisciplinary facilitation, hybrid story-ing and ungenreable activities.

Primary Location: West Papakura, South Auckland, New Zealand (37° 5' 0“ South, 174° 57' 0” East) http://www.maplandia.com/new-zealand/auckland/papakura/“ http://www.maplandia.com/images/icon.gif”

Background:

West Papakura is a economically deprived area populated by indigenous maori, pacific island, and migrant groups. It has recently warranted special focus by police and civic authorities due to high rates of criminal activity (drug houses and labs, gang violence, truancy, tagging, theft etc). Initial entry into the area came via the local community constable who needed some community development consultation and expertise. He and his colleagues had initiated the Awhiwraparound Project, an experimental initiative where 11 streets in a square block are given a dedicated police presence and community centre.

In this socially deprived area the physical, digital and imaginal realms have been deactivated and disconnected. There are large tracts of land that are underutilised and abandoned: A set of 6 netball courts that have not been used for ten years, and TeKoiwi Park which is an ancient spring/swamp with a foreboding atmosphere. Access to the virtual world is challenging, and not widespread.

Discovering Awhi

While working on the Awhiwraparound project it became clear through number of peripheral conversations, haphazard archeological finds, and awkward interuniversal encounters that a parallel world existed. This world was connected through a complex web of synchronicity lines and interdimensional portals, and travelled from the hub in the school garden, through the backyards of drug and gang houses, to the Smith's Avenue Netball courts, Te Koiwi, the Marae and all around the boundary of the awhiwraparound project. New hubs, portals and connection lines appear for discovery every day, and it seems as if Awhiworld (as we have named it) is a thriving interstitial realm inhabited by hybrid creatures, and connected through imaginal doodlings and daydreams.

Children and young adults are most able to engage with Awhiworld, and given the importance of this discovery, we aim to work mainly with this group (together with local Kaumatua/Maori Elders) to uncover and map out Awhi Territory. The local primary school has dedicated their curriculum for the remainder of 2008, to uncovering Awhiworld, and all science, social studies, english and health materials will be directed to ungenreable artifacts and activities and hybrid story-ing themed around Awhi archeology, anthropology, geography etc. A local alternative education school (for pupils excluded from mainstream education), are also engaged with the uncovery process.

As part of uncovering Awhi, varous portals need to be reactivated in order to more deeply understand their purpose and power. To work on this area we are partnering with Nextspacewww.nextspace.co.nz who are assisting with virtual portal reactivation, and local law enforcement agencies and the local council are providing funds to reactivate portals in the physical realm.