MOTAT’s Te Kōtiu Wins International Museums + Heritage Award

MOTAT soared to new heights today when its recently installed Aviation Hall experience, Te Kōtiu, took out the “Best Use of Digital – International” category at the prestigious Museums + Heritage Awards in London.

The awards ceremony took place earlier this morning (New Zealand time) and Te Kōtiu, shortlisted in March alongside digital experiences from around the world, was announced the winner.

The award win adds to this being an outstanding month for MOTAT, with the opening of its groundbreaking new science and technology centre, Te Puawānanga, on 25 May.

MOTAT is extremely proud of its Exhibitions and Collections Teams, principal partner Waxeye, and all the collaborators they worked with on Te Kōtiu to create this amazing experience that is surprising and delighting visitors every day.

Head of Exhibitions Simon Gould said, "We are so honoured to be recognised with this internationally prestigious award. I walk by this beautiful, immersive work every day and see enthralled school kids and adults, and, in that sense, we had already won. But gaining this extra professional recognition validates the enormous efforts by the whole team who delivered Te Kōtiu.

“Thank you to Museums + Heritage for considering Te Kōtiu and for awarding us this honour.”

Belinda Nevin, Head of Curatorial Research, said, “It is simply wonderful to be acknowledged by Museums + Heritage with this award. The team members who researched the collections helped to build a strong foundation for the creative, immersive digital work, which delights our visitors and enriches their experience in our Aviation Hall.”

Projected onto our two large flying boats, the floor and a special screen, Te Kōtiu brings history and our collection to life with a mix of video, animation, oral storytelling, and soundscape. It tells the story of flight and aviation in Aotearoa, from the migration of the kuaka godwit bird to the beginnings of the aerospace industry and everything in between.

It draws on the images, artefacts and footage held in our collection, and features manu aute kites by celebrated Māori artist Nikau Hindin, and the voices of trailblazing wahine toa in the aviation and aerospace industry today.

Running hourly in the Aviation Hall since September 2023, Te Kōtiu has already been experienced by thousands of visitors to MOTAT.

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