In any museum collection you will find items or entire collections that were lent at some point in the distant past, sometimes more than a hundred years ago. It is always rewarding when a relationship is re-established with the owner and the items or collection can be returned to itsRead more
Coming up on 7 July 2012 is the opening of the first major group exhibition of contemporary Pacific art developed by Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki. Home AKL is a dynamic exhibition presenting works by Pacific artists, most of whom live in Auckland. The exhibition reveals the increasingly significantRead more
![[Dame Whina Cooper], 1980s, New Zealand. Westra, Ans. Purchased 1993 with New Zealand Lottery Grants Board funds. Te Papa](https://i0.wp.com/blog.tepapa.govt.nz/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/o-015249-dame-whina-cooper-1980s.jpg?fit=394%2C550&ssl=1)
In an exhibition that might raise as many questions as it provides answers, Brian Easton, curator of The Makers of Modern New Zealand 1930 – 1990 exhibition at the New Zealand Portrait Gallery, welcomes the element of debate that could emerge from his choice of subjects. Dr Easton, economist, writerRead more
Adam Art Gallery has opened a new exhibition this November: Shadowgraphs: Photographic Portraits by Len Lye. The exhibition runs from 19 November to 18 December 2011 and comprehensive presents a selection of the cameraless photographic portraits made by Len Lye in 1947. Lye’s photographs will be contextualised with other material, including silhouettes,Read more
Pataka Museum is about to open another exciting show on 13 November 2011. The exhibition, called Germany and Samoa – Old Ties and New Relationships, investigates the impact and legacy of the profoundly significant historical relationship between Germany and Samoa from 1900 – 1914. The exhibition will feature photos, artefacts, andRead more
“In these rooms you will hear the stories of our people: our origins across the Pacific, our arrival in Aotearoa, and the life we created over many generations. You will meet the leaders, heroes and guardians who have shaped who we are today. And you will discover the taonga (treasures)Read more
The Torres Strait Islander Festival which happens once a year in Queensland, Australia, marks a rare opportunity to raise awareness of its important culture. The overall intent of the Festival is to celebrate the contemporary and historical culture of Torres Strait Islanders. The Queensland Museum exhibition Awakening: Stories from theRead more
The Museum of Wellington City and Sea has an exhibition gallery devoted to the Wahine storm which occurred 10 April 1968 and holds the country’s major collection relating to the event. In remembrance of the storm which was not only a disaster for humans with the loss of fifty one livesRead more
If you happen to be in Australia then visit the exhibition Looking for fairies: The Victorian Tradition at Bendigo Art Gallery to see our famous painting Goblin market by Frank Craig along with Jean McKay’s watercolour In the land of toadstools on display until 28 November 2010. From Bendigo itRead more
Changes are underway at Te Papa. The build for the new history exhibition Slice of Heaven – Twentieth Century Aotearoa has started. In under one months time, on 2 October 2010, the exhibition will open to the public. The walls around the space have been up for a while but things are now really startingRead more
When making exhibitions here at Te Papa, teams have to install a wide variety of objects. You, the visitor, generally only get to see the polished final product – everything all beautifully laid out, ready for viewing. Have you ever wondered how we get the big stuff in? All IRead more
We have men at work on the squid tank again today. I caught up with Don, one of our contractors, just before he was heading off to lunch after a hard morning’s work on the tank. He’s putting in a second pump and filter system into one end of the squidRead more
On Tuesday we started remedial work on the colossal squid and her tank. Things are going very well and to schedule. Yesterday we put up the barriers around the tank and lifted up the huge lid, using a forklift. We then drained most of the liquid out of the tank.Read more
I have to admit – there’s something special about about getting up at an ungodly hour to do something or see something out of the ordinary. Driving this morning through a beautifully still Wellington morning with no traffic is something out of the ordinary in itself 🙂 So it wasRead more
Work is underway preparing the mounting system for the colossal squid in its display tank. Unless the squid is supported by acrylic mounts it will remain a collapsed heap on the bottom of the tank – not very appealling! To display it in as realistic pose as possible a seriesRead more
