The 2024 Aronui Matariki Drone Show has soared to new heights, earning a prestigious spot as a finalist in the NZEA New Zealand Event Awards under the Arts, Cultural or Heritage Event of the Year category.
With over 30,000 attendees in 2024 and another 30,000 in 2025, the drone show has quickly become the flagship celebration of the Aronui Indigenous Arts Festival, captivating audiences with its fusion of technology, culture, and mātauranga Māori.
Held at the Rotorua Lakefront – Kouramāwhitiiti, the shows have painted celestial stories across the night sky using hundreds of drones, accompanied by a beautiful soundscape crafted from taonga puoro (traditional Māori instruments). For its second year, additions were made to the performance, which included a tohunga reo/taonga puoro artist (expert in te reo Māori and traditional musical instruments), Dr Anaha Hiini.
With the support of major sponsors including the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, Rotorua Trust, and Thermal Explorer, the organisers—a small but passionate team—fundraised from scratch.
Aronui trustee June Grant highlighted the symbolic power of drone movement in the 2025 show, representing stars, birds, and souls returning to the heavens. “This fusion shows the world that mātauranga Māori is alive, relevant, and adaptable, grounded in the wisdom of our tūpuna [ancestors] and open to new ways of expression,” she said.
The 2025 show drew in thousands of locals and manuhiri (visitors), even sharing the experience with loved ones around the globe via video calls. The event also featured a vibrant Rotorua Night Market, adding food, crafts, and community spirit to the celebration.
Artistic director Cian Elyse White and taonga puoro artists Dr Anaha Hiini and Riki Bennett brought depth and emotion to the 2025 performance, ensuring that the stories of Matariki were not only seen but felt.
With accolades including the Rotorua Business Award’s category of the Mountain Jade sponsored award for Creative Arts and Design and finalist recognition in Scion’s Innovation and Technology category, the Aronui Matariki Drone Show continues to illuminate the path forward for indigenous storytelling through innovation.
As chairwoman, Mercia-Dawn Yates beautifully put it, “Using modern technology as a vessel to share mātauranga Matariki allows us to honour our traditions while reaching new audiences, ensuring our knowledge continues to shine brightly into the future.”