Māori designer Preston McNeil is making waves internationally after his arcade artwork, Tākaro Pango, won a 2026 Australian Good Design Award.
The Te Arawa and Tainui artist won in the Concept Design category, adding to the Bronze Pin he received at the 2025 Best Design Awards in Aotearoa.
Tākaro Pango puts a Māori spin on the classic arcade machine, bringing together whakairo, pounamu, industrial design, and digital technology. The arcade combines gaming with Māori culture, creating something that is both interactive and visually unique.
McNeil says his whakapapa plays a big part in his creative work, even though he did not grow up speaking te reo Māori.
“I’ve always expressed, with a Māori lens. I’m from Rotorua, Ngāti Whakaue, Tainui. While I didn’t grow up around the reo, I do find myself expressing myself through toi Māori and pūrākau,” he says.
A fusion of Māori Art and gameplay
The arcade cabinet features carved panels inspired by whakairo, alongside hand-carved pounamu joystick tops made by renowned artist Joe Sheehan. It can also be mounted at different heights, making it more accessible for wheelchair users and other players.
For McNeil, having Māori design recognised internationally is a significant moment.
“For me personally, seeing that this new category of contemporary art that has toi Māori in it has appeal in Australia is huge,” he says.
“Getting the accolade from the Good Design Award means a lot, part of my art practice and my journey as a designer.”
Beyond the shores of Aotearoa
Tākaro Pango is part of McNeil’s wider Arca Arcade project. The touring exhibition, Arca Arcade: Round One, launched in Wellington in 2023 and has since travelled around Aotearoa and Victoria, Australia, reaching more than 70,000 visitors.
It features custom-built arcade machines that people can play, with artwork by well-known New Zealand artists including Flox, Gina Kiel, Otis Frizzell, and Joe Sheehan. The machines combine old-school gaming with Māori designs and carving.
McNeil now wants to take the project further by creating original arcade games based on Māori pūrākau, giving people new ways to connect with Indigenous stories.
“Essentially I’ve created a platform for games, so I’ve made the hardware, I’ve made the platform. It’s a touring exhibition,” he says.
His goal is to build a collection of Indigenous arcade cabinets and games that share stories through play, while bringing people together through a familiar part of gaming culture.
