This week is Tongan language week 2014 – Uike Kātoanga’i ‘o e Lea Faka-Tonga. The theme for this year is “Ko e Kai ia ‘a e Tonga” – “Enriching Aotearoa with Tongan Wisdom”. Te Papa’s Pacific Cultures collections have just over 1000 artefacts associated with Tonga, from art works andRead more

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Peek into wild landscapes. Hear Dame Suzie Moncrieff talk about the secrets behind the creative spectacle that is a World of WearableArt™ show. See Matariki performances from the stars of tomorrow. Te Papa’s Channel, launched this week, brings you into the heart of Te Papa’s multimedia collection. Now you canRead more

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To celebrate Cook Islands Māori Language Week I return to the collection of amateur photographer George Robson Crummer who resided in the Cook Islands from 1890. Te Papa has over 240 items from Crummer including 227 black and white negatives some of which are badly deteriorated. In the absence ofRead more

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This week is Cook Islands language week 2014. The theme for the week is ‘Te Rakei o Toku Iti-Tangata’ – Our language and our culture are the foundation of who we are. Looking after cultural treasures is a significant part of Te Papa’s role in the community. We have aRead more

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In: Pacific, Photography

It is with sadness and regret that we learned that photographer Glenn Jowitt died suddenly on 22nd July. Glenn is best known for his photography of Pacific people and their cultures, both in New Zealand and in the Pacific Islands. Glenn was born in 1955 in Upper Hutt. He studied artRead more

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In: Art, Pacific, Photography

“Taofi mau i au measina: Hold fast to your treasures” is the theme for Sāmoan language week 2014. We hope you have followed our tweets and Instagrams over the last few days. To close off this week we look at tatau (tattooing) – one of Sāmoa’s most well known cultural treasures. ThisRead more

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“Taofi mau i au measina: Hold fast to your treasures” is the theme for Sāmoan language week 2014. Indeed, looking after cultural treasures is a significant part of Te Papa’s role in the community. We develop collections of cultural artefacts from the ordinary to the extraordinary, from the very old to theRead more

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Herbert Ian Fetaiai Bartley, Te Papa Audience Engagement Facilitator writes: Working at Te Papa for 5 years, I still get really excited visiting the Pacific Collection Store room. Each time, I always spot something I have never seen before and ask our knowledgeable Pacific Cultures team loads of questions. A lotRead more

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Grace Hutton (Collection Manager Pacific Cultures) introduces us to Nguzunguzu, the guardians of war canoes from the Solomon Islands.  With Kesoko (a water spirit) putting travelling crew members at risk, Nguzunguzu were secured to the prow of every departing war canoe to ensure their safe passage. In the 1800s, on theRead more

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