Surrealist ArtHe Toi Pohewa

  • Fluffy white clouds in a bright blue sky, with a red sofa in the shape of lips superimposed on top
    Surrealist Art: Masterpieces from Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen

    Surrealist Art: Masterpieces from Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen

    Enter the marvellous world of surrealism. See extraordinary artworks by Salvador Dalí, René Magritte, Marcel Duchamp, Leonora Carrington, Man Ray, and more. Astonishing, surprising, and only at Te Papa.

    On now
    12 Jun – 31 Oct 2021

    Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

  • People sitting in a cafē with teapots and cups in front of them
    Surrealist Art Tour and High Tea

    Surrealist Art Tour and High Tea

    Prepare for your Surrealist Art journey with our High Tea package, then join your Te Papa Guide and be treated to the profound stories and intentions behind the masterpieces in the Surrealist Art exhibition.

    Tour He toro

    Book now
  • A woman in a grey cardigan standing in an Art storage unit and smiling off into the distance
    Talk: Introducing Surrealism!

    Talk: Introducing Surrealism!

    Dive into the world of the surrealists. An introduction to the ideas, people and art behind the movement with Curator Modern Art, Lizzie Bisley.

    Sat 19 Jun 2021, 2.00pm–3.00pm

    Event Ngā kaupapa motuhake

  • Three children making badges at a table
    Surrealist Art | He Toi Pohewa Whānau Day: Expect the unexpected!

    Surrealist Art | He Toi Pohewa Whānau Day: Expect the unexpected!

    Bring the whānau (family) for a surreal day of activities and performances. Be surprised, delighted, confused, and excited!

    Thu 15 Jul 2021, 10.00am–3.00pm

    Event Ngā kaupapa motuhake

  • A black and white photo of eight people in makeup and 20s clothing looking at the camera in a variety of ways
    Surrealist Soirée

    Surrealist Soirée

    Experience surrealism in all its magnificence at our Surrealist Soirée. Dust off your black tie and ball gowns, this is a party like you’ve never known – with a side of surreal.

    Sat 31 Jul, 7:30pm to midnight

    Event Ngā kaupapa motuhake

    Book now
Explore Surrealist Art

What’s onE aha ana

  • Inside the nature exhibition
    Te Taiao | Nature

    Te Taiao | Nature

    You’re the explorer in our Te Taiao | Nature exhibition zone. Celebrate Aotearoa New Zealand’s unique natural environment – and get ready for our future as kaitiaki.

    On now
    Permanent exhibition

    Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

  • Black wool in a web stretched across a museum gallery floor, with white numbers sitting in random parts of it.
    Chiharu Shiota: The web of time

    Chiharu Shiota: The web of time

    The web of time, an installation by Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota, creates the vision of a night sky studded with constellations of numbers.

    On now
    On display now

    Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

  • A green background with a large star and nine smaller stars on it in white
    Matariki at Te Papa 2021

    Matariki at Te Papa 2021

    Join us at our place to celebrate Matariki (Māori New Year). Taking guidance from Maramataka Māori (Maori lunar calendar), Matariki is the time to reflect on the past year and prepare for a new one.

    Fri 2 Jul – Sun 11 Jul 2021, 10.00am–6.00pm

    Event Ngā kaupapa motuhake

  • Two men and a woman looking at taxidermied birds. The man in the middle is pointing at the other man
    Introducing Te Papa Tour

    Introducing Te Papa Tour

    Discover New Zealand's rich history and cultures through Te Papa's world-leading exhibitions and treasures. Ideal for visitors with limited time or wanting an introduction to New Zealand's rich history and cultures.

    Tour He toro

    Book now

VisitToro mai

  • Black wool in a web stretched across a museum gallery floor, with white numbers sitting in random parts of it.
    Exhibitions

    Exhibitions

    Celebrate Aotearoa New Zealand’s unique natural environment. See Gallipoli through the eyes and words of eight ordinary New Zealanders. Immerse yourself in a room of colour. Hear extraordinary stories from young refugees.

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    Events

    Events

    Our exciting programme of events runs all year. Watch song and dance performances, join in with kids activities and cultural days, hear from our experts, and much more.

  • A mobile phone displaying the Te Papa NZSL mobile guide is superimposed onto a photo of the moa skeletons on display at Te Papa
    Explore Te Papa in New Zealand Sign Language

    Explore Te Papa in New Zealand Sign Language

    Learn about exhibitions and how to find your way around the museum. Discover Te Papa’s mobile guides on your own device.

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    Te Papa Covid-19 information

    Te Papa Covid-19 information

    With Wellington at Alert Level 1, we remain open, with safety measures in place.

  • Te Papa External View. Photograph by Michael Hall. Te Papa
    Plan your visit

    Plan your visit

    Get directions, download the museum map, find out about our parking facilities, reserve a wheelchair, and more.

Recent blogs

  • Shows a still dark green river with a virgin kauri forest, low scrub and flax on its far bank. In the centre of the view is a row-boat, with Colonel William Wakefield in top hat seated in the stern, trailing an oar. Five other men are rowing
    Little-known lives: Rotumans in 19th-century Aotearoa New Zealand

    Little-known lives: Rotumans in 19th-century Aotearoa New Zealand

    Two rare stories of Rotuman travellers who found their way to New Zealand in the early 1800s, and a contemporary Rotuman artist who has remembered one of them.

    Te Papa Blog

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    Old man’s beard still hasn’t gone

    Old man’s beard still hasn’t gone

    Wellington recently competed in the iNaturalist City Nature Challenge. During the four days of the Challenge people recorded as many observations and species as possible. Science researcher Lara Shepherd was shocked that the introduced weed old man’s beard was the second-equal most observed species in Wellington.

    Te Papa Blog

  • Aerial photo of an island showing dense housing, with the sea level around the island low
    Co-collecting climate change in Tokelau

    Co-collecting climate change in Tokelau

    Pacific curator Rachel Yates introduces a co-collecting project that took Te Papa to Tokelau’s three low-lying coral atolls in the South Pacific to document the effects of climate change.

    Te Papa Blog

  • Unfinished painting of a young boy on the back of a canvas
    The mystery boy on the back of the painting

    The mystery boy on the back of the painting

    In this excerpt from The Back of the Painting, a new book from Te Papa Press that takes a literal look behind the scenes of famous paintings in New Zealand galleries, Conservator Paintings Linda Waters uncovers a mystery: the unfinished portrait of a young boy.

    Te Papa Blog

  • Thirteen people hold up a block from the New Zealand AIDS Memorial Quilt to face the camera, in Te Papa’s marae
    Forty years of the HIV/AIDS pandemic

    Forty years of the HIV/AIDS pandemic

    It’s been 40 years since the first media reports of HIV/AIDS. Te Papa’s Gareth Watkins reflects on the timeline of the pandemic in Aotearoa New Zealand’s history, which sees a number of significant anniversaries in the coming weeks.

    Te Papa Blog

Read more blogs

Explore Te Papa at homeToroa Te Papa i te kāinga

  • A New Zealand landscape scene with the Matariki star cluster in the sky
    Matariki: The Māori New Year

    Matariki: The Māori New Year

    Learn all about Matariki and see our events. Matariki is a time to gather with family and friends to reflect on the past, celebrate the present, and plan for the future.

  • View of Oriental Bay, with Wellington Harbour on the left and houses lining the street on the right. A crowd of hundreds is walking along the boardwalk
    Online jigsaw puzzles using our collections

    Online jigsaw puzzles using our collections

    Take a moment or two to relax with online jigsaw puzzles using taonga from our collections. Come back frequently to find new ones!

  • Two people looking at the camera
    Raranga Matihiko TV – Home learning

    Raranga Matihiko TV – Home learning

    The Raranga Matihiko team and our Learning team have created 16 episodes, designed for home learning for junior and senior students, that weave digital technologies around museum taonga, and exploring kaitiakitanga (guardianship and protection).

  • Waitangi Day activity book
    Treaty of Waitangi learning resources

    Treaty of Waitangi learning resources

    Watch interviews, download activity books and learn more about the Treaty of Waitangi and what it means to all New Zealanders.

  • =""
    The Current

    The Current

    Add your voice to The Current and help solve New Zealand’s toughest nature challenges. We’ll share your anonymous response with researchers via data.govt.nz.

  • Maramataka dial is displayed on a wall. To the left, a plant hangs into the frame. To the right, a taxidermied penguin appears in the frame. Under the dial can be seen an open book
    How to use the Maramataka | Māori lunar calendar

    How to use the Maramataka | Māori lunar calendar

    Print a Maramataka dial, explore its energy levels, and use it to plan activities with your whānau.

  • Illustration of a tattooed Māori chief 1784
    Tāmoko | Māori tattoos: history, practice, and meanings

    Tāmoko | Māori tattoos: history, practice, and meanings

    Discover the history and practice of tāmoko, and find out why the lines of a moko carved in skin represent much more than a tattoo.

  • Sailing vessel
    Voyage and discovery in the Pacific

    Voyage and discovery in the Pacific

    The history of the discovery of Aotearoa New Zealand goes back a millennium and contains the stories of many fine explorers, from Kupe to Cook. Here, explore Pacific exploration and European colonisation through our taonga, kōrero, and events.

  • A kaka, a type of parrot with red under its wings
    Birds of New Zealand

    Birds of New Zealand

    Birds are an important part of New Zealand's nationhood. We are the only nation where the people are colloquially known by a bird name – 'Kiwi'.

  • Manuka, Leptospermum scoparium J.R.Forst. & G.Forst., collected 02 Apr 2009, southern Wairarapa, New Zealand. CC BY-NC-NDCC licence. Te Papa (SP087325)
    Māori medicine

    Māori medicine

    Rongoā Māori is the traditional Māori healing system. Ailments are treated in a holistic manner.

  • Green fence with a hand-painted sign on it saying, 'Give nothing to racism' in green and black.
    Antiracism and activism

    Antiracism and activism

    Articles on protest, decolonisation, and antiracism from our experts and across the web.

  • A man receiving a Samoan tatoo in Te Papa
    Sāmoan tatau (tattoo) meanings, stories, tools, and history

    Sāmoan tatau (tattoo) meanings, stories, tools, and history

    Pacific curator Sean Mallon and Sāmoan tatau artists Sulu’ape Steve Looney and Tuigamala Andy Tauafiafi talk about the meanings and history of Sāmoan tattooing.

  • Close-up of 1905 All Blacks jersey, featuring a brown crest on the top and a large silver fern on the left-hand side. The jersey is black
    The significance of the silver fern

    The significance of the silver fern

    The ‘silver fern’ (Cyathea dealbata) – ponga in te reo Māori – is a species of tree fern only found in New Zealand, and as such has become a potent symbol.

  • Kete whakairo (patterned bag), 1800-1833, New Zealand, maker unknown. Purchased 1977. Te Papa (ME013967)
    Māori weaving

    Māori weaving

    Learn about the goddess of te whare pora (the house of weaving) and the different types of weaving that are important in Aotearoa New Zealand.

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