Events in week starting Sunday 25 November 2012

Get into the spirit and celebrate Wellington's Middle Earth connection.

Soprano Pepe Becker and lute player Stephen Pickett perform Renaissance and early baroque music among the stunning works in Angels & Aristocrats.

Angels & Aristocrats curator Mary Kisler looks at the ways in which some of the show’s religious paintings move beyond mere representation.

Come to Te Papa to hear three of the country’s most esteemed writers read from and discuss their work.

Curator Victoria Robson reveals the surprising stories behind the acquisition of selected paintings from Te Papa’s collection.

Discover the early works of one of 18th-century England’s leading portrait painters with Gainsborough specialist Hugh Belsey.

Today, a panel of judges from Weta Workshop, HarperCollins, and Te Papa choose the winning art works in the Schools Hobbit Art Competition.

The Shire Waytes are an eight-piece band who play medieval and Renaissance instruments – string, wind, reed, and percussion – in various combinations. They bring diversity to both period and Tolkien-inspired music and song.

Get into the spirit and celebrate Wellington's Middle Earth connection.

Don’t miss this fascinating lecture on Homo floresiensis – a human species discovered on the Indonesian Island of Flores in 2003. This new species stood just over 1 metre tall and had large feet.

During December and January, Te Papa will be accepting donations of food for Wellington’s Soup Kitchen.

Hear the children in Munting Tinig (Small Voices) sing traditional Filipino songs and old-time favourites, in English and Filipino.