Behind the scenes: creating exhibitions and hidden stories

How to design an exhibition for teens? Co-create it with them

‘Tony Fomison: Lost in the Dark’ is co-created with students from Wellington High School, which involved working together across a number of creative sessions. Here, Experience Designer Chloe Johnston channels her inner teen.

The secrets found on the backs of paintings

Conservator Paintings Linda Waters writes about what the back of a painting can tell you.

Stories in the paint: the making of Rutu

Rita Angus’s painting, Rutu, is one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most iconic portraits. Here, Conservator Paintings Linda Waters reveals some of the hidden histories she learned while preparing Rutu for exhibition.

Behind the scenes of Toi Art under construction

Take a peek at how the galleries were built.

Watch: Ngā Tai Whakarongorua | Encounters timelapse

This portrait wall forms part of the Toi Art exhibition ‘Tūrangawaewae: Art & New Zealand’, which spans historical portraiture to contemporary practice, with art works that inspire and provoke, question and console.

The Back of the Painting

Behind the scenes with the experts on famous paintings

Finding a painting in a landscape: locating the site of ‘Waterfall in Dusky Bay with Maori canoe’

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.

How we brought Nike Savvas’ Finale: Bouquet to life

Three-dimensional painting, thousands of fluttering, colourful strands. Hundreds of thousands in fact. Spatial designer Vioula Said and exhibition preparator Sam Wallis run you through what went into bringing it to life.

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‘It’s the objects that sparkle, not me’: A day in the life of an art collection manager

Art collection manager Anna Brookes shares with us what she gets up to day to day and her tips for getting into the industry.

The mystery boy on the back of the painting

Wilhelm Dittmer, Taketake (Wanganui chief), about 1904, oil on cardboard. Gift of Alexander Turnbull, 1916. Te Papa (1992-0035-1686)

Preparing Guy Ngan’s 40-year-old Parliamentary work for a new show

All About ‘Eve’: Rodin’s masterpiece

Hear the story of Auguste Rodin’s “Eve”, and the conservation work that went into making her ready for display, to tour New Zealand in 2019.