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Toi Art

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

Guide to Toi Art in New Zealand Sign Language

  • Where | Ki hea Levels 4 & 5
  • Cost | Te utu Free entry
  • 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

    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 – late 2023

    Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

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    Landscape and Desire

    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

  • Close-up of a hīnaki (eel trap) showing its weavings
    Hīnaki: Contemplation of a Form

    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.

    Opening soon
    Opens 10 Jun 2023

    Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

  • A selection of portraits lined up on a red wall
    Encounters

    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

  • A platform sits on gold-coloured hexagonal feet. On the platform rests an iris-coloured Japanese umbrella, a camera lens and an iris flower in seperate glass jars. In the background a row of large purple incense sticks against the wall.
    Dane Mitchell: Iris, Iris, Iris

    Dane Mitchell: Iris, Iris, Iris

    Dane Mitchell’s Iris, Iris, Iris merges the visible world with the invisible, using the many meanings of the word ‘iris’ to explore the senses of smell and sight.

    On now
    9 Dec 2022 – 3 Sep 2023

    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

    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

  • A man hugs a woman from behind in a field. She holds a bunch of flowers. Behind them a woman stands in isolation. Further back, there’s a stone house and hills
    Through Shaded Glass

    Through Shaded Glass

    This exhibition draws on a major new publication from Te Papa Press and curator Lissa Mitchell. It presents a selection of portraits made by women photographers, and studio operators and employees, between 1860 and 1960.

    Opening soon
    7 Jun – 22 Oct 2023

    Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

  • Graphic depicting a phone with the audio guide displayed on the screen
    Toi Art audio guide

    Toi Art audio guide

    Art can inspire us to look at nature in new ways – listen to our free audio guide.

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    Art Studio: Colour

    Art Studio: Colour

    Explore a magical world of colour – create, play, draw, discuss.

  • Students and a teacher stand in front of a wall of paintings
    Toi Art for educators

    Toi Art for educators

    Book a curriculum-linked school programme or self-guided visit to explore Toi Art. Be inspired and challenged by our learning specialists and learning resources. Discover a learning experience you’ll love.

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    Read, watch, play: Art

    Read, watch, play: Art

    Explore the work of artists such as Tiffany Singh, Simon Denny, Colin McCahon, and Rita Angus through videos, podcasts, and in-depth articles.

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    Art and Photography at Te Papa

    Art and Photography at Te Papa

    Browse our online collection of watercolours, drawings, photographs, and sculptures, spanning landscapes, portraits, and abstract pieces from New Zealand and around the world.

  • Mannequins dressed in Pacific inspired fashion
    Past exhibitions

    Past exhibitions

    Look at exhibitions presented at Te Papa, going back to 1998.