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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

  • Wheelchair accessible
  • Wharepaku | toilets – including all gender, accessible
  • Parents’ room
  • Portable gallery stools available
  • Where | Ki hea Levels 4 & 5
  • Cost | Te utu Free entry
  • 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

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

    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

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

    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 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

    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

    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

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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

  • View of the exhibition ‘New Histories’, showing two display cases containing TV sets in them
    New Histories: Lisa Reihana and William Dunning

    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

  • 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.

    On now
    10 Jun 2023 – mid 2024

    Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

  • Square pendant with mother of pearl ornaments on it
    Tanya Ashken

    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 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 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 – 28 Jan 2024

    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

    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 John Parker exhibition, showing three glass plinths containing sculptures
    John Parker: Handmade Precision

    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

  • 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.