Touring Exhibition – Robin White: Tuituia | Something Is Happening Here
Tirohia ētahi mahi nō te umanga a White – mai i ngā peitatanga tuatahi, ki ngā mahinga ngātahi o tēnei wā mā te tapa, hei ngā rohe puta noa i Aotearoa.
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Explore a selection of artworks spanning White’s career – from early paintings to recent collaborative tapa (bark cloth).
2025–2027
Touring across Aotearoa New Zealand
For over 50 years, Dame Robin White’s art has portrayed people and their environments in Aotearoa New Zealand, Kiribati, Fiji, Tonga, and beyond. These places have transformed her life and art.
In late 1971, Robin White moved to Dunedin and bought a cottage in Portobello on Muaūpoko (Otago Peninsula). She immediately immersed herself in ‘learning’ her new surroundings. Her paintings of the 1970s helped create an image of Aotearoa New Zealand. Works such as this are now iconic.
In 1982, Robin White and her family moved to the Pacific nation of Kiribati to assist the local Bahá'í community.
Life on a remote atoll brought changes to Robin White’s art. She began using materials at hand, like wood for woodblock prints. Her focus shifted to people and stories of the wider Pacific.
Since 1999, she has been living back in Aotearoa New Zealand in Masterton and continues to collaborate with many other Pacific artists – each with their own history and vision of the future.
Tour schedule
- Aigantighe Art Gallery, Tīmaru
Wed 30 April to Wed 16 July, 202525 - Eastern Southland Gallery, Gore
Tue 18 February to Wed 30 April, 2025
The touring itinerary is scheduled for the South Island in 2025/6 and the North Island in 2027, with venues being currently confirmed.
Hosting enquiries
Jake Yocum, Touring Exhibition Manager
Phone: +64 (0)4 381 7317
Email: touringexhibitions@tepapa.govt.nz
Exhibition highlightsTaonga whakaatu
- ObjectDame Robin White19831983-0015-1/1-5
Discover moreKia kitea ake
Watch: Robin White – The making of ‘That Vase’
In 2019, Dame Robin White invited a small team from Te Papa to visit her on location in Lautoka Fiji as she completed That Vase, a masi (Fijian tapa) made with her collaborator Tamari Cabeikanacea.
Robin White: Something is Happening Here
Major survey of the 50-year career of one of New Zealand’s best-loved artists, Robin White.
Robin White: Artist
Dame Robin White (Ngāti Awa, Pākehā) is one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most loved living contemporary artists. For over fifty years, Robin White has portrayed people and their environments in Aotearoa New Zealand, Kiribati, Fiji, Tonga, and beyond.
Dame Robin White in our collections
Explore artworks spanning White’s career – from early paintings to recent collaborative tapa (bark cloth) portraying people and their environments in Aotearoa New Zealand, Kiribati, Fiji, Tonga, and beyond.
Touring exhibitions
Te Papa exhibitions on tour.