Mātauranga Māori curator Matariki Williams (Tūhoe, Te Atiawa, Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Hauiti) dives into a series of paintings by Colin McCahon, commissioned by the Urewera National Park Board in the 1970s.Read more
Today many people in Wellington are gathering for a public memorial service for Piri Sciascia, who passed away 18 Jan 2020. In this blog, we commemorate Piri and his enduring support for Te Papa, Māori art, and taonga.Read more
Sustainable indigenised practice in colonial museum models – is there such a thing? Kaihāpai Mātauranga Māori | Head of Mātauranga Māori Puawai Cairns explores the question.Read more
In 2017, a jacket worn by the fictional gang Toa Aoteoroa in the 1994 film ‘Once Were Warriors’ entered the national collection. History curator Stephanie Gibson explains why.Read more
In April 2019, Te Papa acquired a rare, early oil painting by William Hodges, artist on Captain Cook’s second voyage, titled Waterfall in Dusky Bay with Maori Canoe. Here, Te Papa tour host Bill Whelen reflects upon his journeys into Dusky Sound, and finding the exact location of Te Papa’s newly acquired painting.Read more
Educator Martin Langdon shares our Learning Team’s 2019 Matariki kaupapa which involved collaborating with other GLAM institutions in the Wellington region so they could reach more tamariki – after all, Matariki is a time for sharing, renewal, and innovation.Read more
Awhina shares her journey and allows us an insight into the collaborative approach that she took to develop this important book.Read more
Intern Tim Fortescue-Willis has spent the last six weeks cataloguing and digitising Theo Schoon’s photographs of Māori rock art. Tim describes his journey working with these negatives and reflects on what he’s learnt about Theo Schoon during his time at Te Papa. Read more
New Zealand art historian and curator, Roger Blackley, passed away on the 15 May 2019. Here, Rebecca Rice acknowledges his legacy.Read more
How do you make topics like climate change and water pollution accessible and fun? Is it ok for Te Papa to take a playful approach to such serious territory? Experience Developers Jen Craddock and Ralph Upton explain how the team took on this challenge, using mischief-maker Māui as their guide.Read more
Puawai Cairns, Kaihāpai Mātauranga Māori | Head of Mātauranga Māori, looks at the nuances of language and how ‘diversity denial’ can exclude the communities you’re trying to embrace.Read more
Triggered by Suffrage 125 last year, Te Papa curators have been collecting objects around women’s rights, and researching our collections to better reveal women’s stories. One of our aims is to improve the gender balance in our collections. Here are some favourite examples from our curators.Read more
