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Exhibitions Ngā whakaaturanga

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

Sunday 3 December 2023

  • Inside the nature exhibition

    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

  • A man stands looking at a red wall featuring paintings hung in the salon style

    Toi Art

    Discover our world of art, featuring new, exciting commissions alongside the national art collection.

    On now
    Long-term and temporary exhibitions

    Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

  • Entrance to Gallipoli

    Gallipoli: The Scale of Our War

    This ground-breaking exhibition tells the story of the Gallipoli campaign in World War I through the eyes and words of eight ordinary New Zealanders who found themselves in extraordinary circumstances.

    On now
    18 Apr 2015 – 25 Apr 2025

    Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

  • A large-scale, woven installation that is suspended from above and spans a double-height gallery space with a wooden floor and white walls. Woven, grey and reflective tie-downs create shadows and reflections on the walls and floor.

    Mataaho Collective: Te Puni Aroaro

    Experience the ground-breaking artworks of Mataaho Collective – four wāhine Māori artists who have worked together for the last decade.

    On now
    18 Dec 2022 – 28 Jan 2024

    Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

  • Microscopic photo of five sponges: one is shaped like an X; a three-bladed windmill; an enoki mushroom; a fish hook; and a little explosion

    This Swaying Earth

    A suite of new exhibitions where artists and makers express their relationships with the natural world.

    On now
    Until mid-2024

    Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

  • Exhibition view showing a large painting on the wall in the centre, and four smaller paintings beside it on the right

    Arranging Nature

    This exhibition features works by artists and photographers including George Vernon Hudson, Nancy Adams, John Buchanan, Sarah Featon, Herbert Dobbie, and Ayesha Green.

    On now
    23 Sep 2023 – mid 2024

    Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

  • ""

    Wayne Barrar: Mai i te Pūranga Kōata | From the Glass Archive

    Diatoms are tiny organisms that live in oceans, rivers, and lakes. The 19th century saw a craze for arranging the silica skeleton fossils of diatoms and other micro-organisms on glass slides for viewing through microscopes. Photographer Wayne Barrar has delved into this ‘glass archive’ to explore its microscopic wonders.

    On now
    23 Sep 2023 – mid 2024

    Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

  • View of a gallery space. It is dimly lit. In the foreground hangs large pieces of kelp lit by a rainbow of neon lighting. In the background, projected onto the wall, is a video work comprising of many ceramic pots housing plants the are outgrowing them

    This Natural World

    This exhibition demonstrates how artists and makers work with nature – using forms and materials to connect with knowledge and stories held in the natural world around us.

    On now
    23 Sep 2023 – mid 2024

    Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

  • Installation view of the artwork “Extensum/Extensor”. It comprises of a long sheet of rusted paper which hangs from the ceiling and rolls out across the floor. On the floor part of the paper, thins rods in floor green stick out, like hairs

    یکی بود یکی نبود | Tērā te Wā | Memory Spaces

    Persian stories often begin with یکی بود یکی نبود (‘yeki bood, yeki nabood’), or ‘one was, one was not’. Here, artworks by Selina Ershadi and Pauline Rhodes explore ideas of presence and absence to tell stories about place and memory.

    On now
    23 Sep 2023 – mid 2024

    Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

  • ""Multiple ceramic pieces hang by string, some are long and thin and dyed an orange colour; others are a variety of shapes and colours – white, dark blue, green, brown, shorter, squatter, and some have holes in them

    Kate Newby: SHE’S TALKING TO THE WALL

    Nearly 1,000 wind chimes hang in front of you. Aotearoa New Zealand artist Kate Newby made this expansive artwork over 10 years. Through clay and glass, she explores how natural materials transform when shaped and fired.

    On now
    9 Dec 2022 – mid 2024

    Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

  • Close-up of a hīnaki (eel trap) showing its weavings

    Hīnaki: Contemplation of a Form

    This exhibition provides a broad experience of hīnaki (eel traps). As well as displaying these taonga, it focuses on two early museum expeditions, Māori relationships with two significant rivers, and contemporary artworks related or responding to hīnaki.

    On now
    10 Jun 2023 – mid 2024

    Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

  • ""

    Landscape and Desire

    This exhibition explores the different ways that artists in Aotearoa have expressed their relationship to the land – to the places we live in.

    On now
    8 Oct 2022 – mid 2024

    Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

  • A selection of portraits lined up on a red wall

    Encounters

    These portraits represent mana – power and prestige. Some trumpet the status of European royalty, Māori leaders, or prosperous colonial settlers in New Zealand. Others advertise the skills of the artist. All carry with them stories from the past into the present.

    On now
    Long-term exhibition

    Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

  • View of the John Parker exhibition, showing three glass plinths containing sculptures

    John Parker: Handmade Precision

    John Parker is one of New Zealand’s most distinctive ceramic artists. Simple lines, clean edges, and industry-inspired forms feature throughout his 50-year career.

    On now
    On now

    Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

  • A magician poising for a photo. In his left hand area lit cigarette lighters between each finger. In his right handle, lit candles are held between each finger

    The Perfect Moment

    These photographs are a glimpse into The Spencer Digby - Ronald D. Woolf Collection.

    On now
    Sat 4 Nov – 4 Feb 2024

    Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

  • View of the exhibition ‘New Histories’, showing two display cases containing TV sets in them

    New Histories: Lisa Reihana and William Dunning

    In New Histories, contemporary works by Lisa Reihana and William Dunning scrutinise New Zealand history and the power dynamics between settler and Māori cultures.

    On now
    15 Oct 2021 – mid-2024

    Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

  • Square pendant with mother of pearl ornaments on it

    Tanya Ashken

    Over the last 60 years, Tanya Ashken has produced a remarkable body of work as a sculptor, silversmith, and jeweller. Her practice responds to the energy and rhythms of the world around her. This group of works highlights the diversity of Ashken’s practice.

    On now
    23 Sep 2022 – mid 2024

    Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

  • A father and daughter hold hand on an ornately carved wharenui (large meeting house)

    Te Marae

    An authentic and inclusive marae (communal meeting place) for the 21st century.

    On now
    Permanent exhibition

    Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

  • General view of an exhibition space with a large projection on the wall, a waka (Māori canoe) in the foreground, and further exhibits in the background

    Mana Whenua

    Mana Whenua takes you on a stirring journey that explores and celebrates Māori as tangata whenua (the indigenous people) of Aotearoa New Zealand.

    On now
    Permanent exhibition

    Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

  • ""

    Manu Rere Moana

    The navigation of the Pacific by waka hourua | double-hulled sailing waka is one of the great achievements of human technology. This exhibition celebrates the mātauranga of celestial navigation that enabled these extraordinary voyages.

    On now
    Permanent exhibition

    Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

  • A group of Māori men lift a waka onto the shore

    He Kaupapa Waka

    E kau ki te tai e, e kau ki te tai e! Celebrate the thriving waka community.

    On now
    12 Nov 2022 – 29 Sep 2024

    Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

  • Display case showing a taxidermy seagull suspended from its roof alongside a number of carved pou, wooden poles

    Moriori – People of Peace

    Learn about the Moriori people who inhabit Rēkohu | the Chatham Islands.

    On now
    Long-term exhibition

    Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

  • Palm tree

    Tangata o le Moana: The story of Pacific people in New Zealand

    Celebrate the story of Pacific people, past and present, in all areas of life.

    On now
    Long-term exhibition

    Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

  • Visitors explore the Passports exhibition

    Passports

    Remarkable stories of people who migrated to New Zealand over the last 200 years.

    On now
    Long-term exhibition

    Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

  • Te Tiriti o Waitangi: Signs of a Nation, 2015. Photograph by Norm Heke. Te Papa

    Treaty of Waitangi: Signs of a Nation

    Discover how the Treaty has shaped relationships between the peoples of Aotearoa New Zealand.

    On now
    Permanent exhibition

    Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

  • The Mixing Room, 2015. Photograph by Michael Hall. Te Papa

    The Mixing Room: Stories from young refugees in New Zealand

    Young refugees invite you to hear their extraordinary stories.

    On now
    Long-term exhibition

    Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

  • Multiple glass-fronted cases against a wall display an array of items, from birds and sheep, to a bottle of wine and a blender

    Blood Earth Fire

    Explore New Zealand’s dramatic transition from untouched paradise to cultivated land.

    On now
    Long-term exhibition

    Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

  • The colossal squid on display with children looking into the tank

    The Colossal Squid

    Meet the only colossal squid on display in the world.

    On now
    Permanent exhibition

    Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

  • Close up of a motorbike in the museum

    Britten Bike

    See the record-breaking Britten V1000 motorbike, designed and built by Kiwi genius John Britten.

    On now
    Long-term display

    Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

  • A man and two children standing on a suspension bridge look into the bush

    Bush City

    Step outside into a living, growing exhibition. Explore native bush and a volcanic landscape.

    On now
    Open daily until 5pm

    Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

  • Quake Braker exhibition

    Quake Braker

    Go underground to see the amazing Kiwi innovation that ‘puts the brakes on’ in an earthquake.

    On now
    Permanent exhibition

    Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga