Reusing Te Papa’s collections images, by the numbers
In June last year we began making high-resolution images available for download, for collection items where copyright (or cultural rights) would allow us.Read more
2015-04-10
Photos of New Zealand’s threatened forget-me-nots now on Collections Online
Did you know that 32 of New Zealand’s 44 native forget-me-not species are under some level of threat? That’s a whopping 75%! Sixteen of those species are in the “Threatened” category and another 16 are in the “At Risk” category of the New Zealand Threat Classification. Because such a highRead more
2015-03-26
Botany Collection Narratives: Lindauer, Algae Nova-Zelandicae Exsiccatae
Introducing a significant part of Te Papa’s macro-algae (seaweed) collection – The complete Algae Nova-Zelandicae Exciccatae by Victor W Lindauer. Algae Nova-Zelandicae Exsiccatae – 14 Fascicles – Victor W Lindauer. Victor Willhelm Lindauer (1888-1964) was a school teacher who became fascinated with seaweeds after he met a team of North American phycologists (seaweed scientists) who visited the Bay of IslandsRead more
2015-03-13
Botany Collection Narratives (Part 1): Recent Botany Donations
As the Science Collection Manager responsible for managing the botany collection, part of my job is to increase public access to the collection. One way to achieve this is through online narratives. This blog series will highlight some recent botany narratives. In this blog we introduce narrative topics of some recent, veryRead more
2015-03-09
Tū whitia te hopo | Feel the fear and pronounce it anyway! Tip 1
Having trouble pronouncing kupu Māori? Many people are so afraid of giving it a go, they would much rather just give it a miss. Believe me I understand. There are words in other languages I avoid using for that very reason! For example, the scientific name for the manu below is HimantopusRead more
2014-08-21
Free, downloadable images from Te Papa’s collections
A few weeks ago we released an updated version of Collections Online, making images bigger, search results clearer, and easier to use regardless of what device you are using. Today we are extremely happy to let you know about our latest development; over 30,000 images downloadable, for free, in the highestRead more
2014-06-03
Updated! Collections Online
Today we’re very pleased to make our new version of Collections Online available. We’ve made it work much better on your smartphone or tablet, while still being really useful on desktop for more in-depth research. We’ve also made the images much bigger, search results clearer, and made it easier for you to follow yourRead more
2014-02-26
A tribute to font designer Joseph Churchward (1933-2013)
We would like to pay a special tribute to Samoan artist Joseph Churchward who sadly passed away last weekend. We were privileged to have worked with Joseph in 2008, when my colleague Sean Mallon (Senior Curator Pacific Cultures) and I curated the exhibition Letter Man: Joseph Churchward’s world of type (2008). I recallRead more
2013-04-30
Ralph Hotere, 1931-2013
Te Papa is deeply saddened by the death yesterday of Ralph Hotere – one of the country’s greatest artists. Our thoughts go out to his family, his friends, and the arts community. Ralph once commented that ‘There are few things I can say about my work that are better thanRead more
2013-02-25
The Berry Boys – The First 50
For me the new year is an opportunity to stop for a moment and reflect on the achievements of the past year. Today my focus has been on Te Papa’s Kiwi Faces of World War I project where we have been identifying soldiers in a collection of negatives taken atRead more
2013-01-03
Contemporary New Zealand art on display in China
Two weeks ago I was in Shanghai for the opening of the exhibition Meridian Lines: Contemporary Art from the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa at the China Art Museum with artist Yuk King Tan and Wen Powles, Te Papa’s International Strategy Advisor. The China Art Museum is the newRead more
2012-10-18
The Berry Boys – Girl Day
One of the fascinating aspects of the Berry & Co photographs of World War I soldiers is that they were often photographed with family and friends. These family photographs bring to the fore the fact that women and children were affected by the war. Life on the home front wasRead more
2012-10-11
Farewell Don Binney
We are saddened to hear that contemporary New Zealand artist Don Binney has passed away. Our thoughts are with Don’s family and friends.Read more
2012-09-16
Unforgettable: Michael Parekowhai’s ‘On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer’
If you live in the Wellington region then I really hope you’ll come to Te Papa and visit Michael Parekowhai’s On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer, which is on show on Level 5 until 23 September 2012. Rather than describing my own experience of these works, I thought I’d share withRead more
2012-09-08
The Berry Boys – another story from the photos featuring World War 1 soldiers
One of the amazing things about researching the Berry and Co portraits is that with each identification comes new insight into World War 1. The stories behind the people and their experiences make what happened during the war more real and personal. One image in particular pulled at my heart-stringsRead more
2012-07-18