Past exhibitionsNgā whakaaturanga o mua

Get into the Olympic spirit, and see two iconic gold medals up close.

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

Closed
23 Sep 2023 – 19 May 2024

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

An astonishing exhibition of the dinosaurs of Patagonia, South America – which included the Patagotitan, one of the most massive creatures ever to walk the planet, life-sized casts, and real fossils up to 230 million years old.

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

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.

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.

Discover crustaceans’ smart survival tricks in a mini exhibition with real specimens and hands-on interactives. Created in collaboration with NIWA Taihoro Nukurangi.

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.

An exploration of colour, shape, and pattern in the Pacific.

January 2023 marks 100 years since the death of Wellington-born writer Katherine Mansfield, whose stories are celebrated the world over.

These 12 lithographs tell a story of family life, childbirth, and parenthood – unusually, from the point of view of the father. They offer a fresh view of late 20th-century New Zealand art from a largely self-taught artist.

Lifting the lid on the photobook phenomenon and the art of the whole book as a creative work.

A look back at Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation and 1953–54 tour to Aotearoa New Zealand – the first ever tour by a reigning monarch.

More than 50 works from across Dame Robin White’s 50-year career will form what the artist describes as a ‘family reunion’, bringing together works from 22 galleries and living rooms across the country. 

Hundreds of zeros hover above you.

This exhibition shows a selection from the 339 works gifted to the National Art Gallery (now Te Papa) by Archdeacon Francis Henry Dumville Smythe (1873–1966) in 1957.

Spices, herbs, gemstones, and other natural materials believed to have healing properties are arranged here in a rainbow, a vision of hope and new beginnings. Fair-trade bells hang on the ribbons, and below them is a salt mandala – a symbol of cleansing and ritual.

How are you feeling? This experimental installation invites you to choose a colour based on how you feel right now. Press a button and become part of an evolving communal light sculpture.

Rita Angus created a distinctive vision of a new, modern New Zealand. This landmark exhibition celebrates 40 years of her work.

Head into outer space on this interactive experience where gaming wizardry plus captivating live action equals high-stakes adventure!

See Lisa Reihana’s vast digital wallpaper for the first time in Aotearoa New Zealand since its showing at the 2017 Venice Biennale.

A selection of photos that play with perception.

From the 1850s to the 1910s, feathers were the height of fashion – worn by royalty, military men, debutantes and fashionable women alike. Opening soon: 26 Jun 2021 to late April 2022.

In 'Finding Shape' artworks by Sriwhana Spong and Vivian Lynn explore how experience is shaped by the body and mind.

Enter the marvellous world of surrealism. See extraordinary artworks by Salvador Dalí, René Magritte, Marcel Duchamp, Leonora Carrington, Man Ray, and more. Astonishing, surprising, and only at Te Papa.

Surrealist Impulse explores a local and Māori relationship with surrealism through works by two leading artists – Michael Parekowhai and Shane Cotton.

Based on the new book ‘The Back of the Painting’ from Te Papa Press, view a work from our collection – both the artwork and what is on the back of the painting – and unpick the story it tells.

See the taonga and hear the stories behind the TVNZ 1 series National Treasures. 

‘MAU: House of Night and Day’ is a major installation by renowned director, choreographer and multidisciplinary artist Lemi Ponifasio.

A selection of postcards offering views of popular travel destinations in Aotearoa New Zealand from more than a hundred years ago.

Explore skate culture with panel talks, workshops, and a one-day skating event.

Join ceramic artists and clayworkers, learn the craft, and experience the infinite possibilities of clay.

Get hands on and make ngatu (Tongan bark cloth) with the women of Akomai Heritage, and learn about how the process is changing and thriving in Aotearoa.

This series of experiences celebrates a diverse range of creative making practices. Get up close, watch live demonstrations, and get inspired!

Create! Look! Explore! Celebrate summer at Te Papa with a dynamic festival of events, activities, exhibitions, and fun.

In this series of three different experiences, engage with a single art work at your own pace and in your own way.

The web of time, an installation by Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota, creates the vision of a night sky studded with constellations of numbers.

We warmly remember Douglas MacDiarmid (1922–2020) with six colourful sketches he drew of his friend Helen Hitchings hitchhiking through France in 1953.

Experience World of WearableArt like never before. A theatrical journey and immersive exhibition that invites you to get up close to the extraordinary garments and explore limitless creativity. 

The 1952 Auckland exhibition Art and Design introduced New Zealanders to a vision for a more equal, happier way of life that grew from the devastation of World War II. Modern Living offers a lens into this ground-breaking exhibition, and an exciting era of new design in Aotearoa.

Explore Tokelau’s unique way of life, faka-Tokelau, through the lenses of two New Zealand photographers. Glenn Jowitt visited in 1981, Andrew Matautia 36 years later, in 2017.

From chess to safe sex, silverware to gang wear – what do we collect? And why? Explore 21 new collection items. Discover our curators’ thinking. 

Curiouser and curiouser! This summer, come with Alice on an adventure in Wonderland – an interactive exhibition that celebrates Lewis Carroll’s timeless stories. Where will the Hallway of Doors lead you?

This exhibition presents a new acquisition, a painting by William Hodges, in conversation with Ngāi Tahu whānui taonga and artworks by Mark Adams and Colin McCahon. Together, they speak to the legacies – artistic, cultural, and scientific – generated by the first meeting of James Cook and southern Māori.

Pain. Identity. Innovation. Experience Sāmoan tattooing through the lenses of four photographers – across time, in Sāmoa, Aotearoa New Zealand, and beyond.

A collection of exquisite botanical watercolours from the late 19th century, showcasing New Zealand’s native flowers.

‘Finale: Bouquet’ captures a moment of jubilation, with confetti caught mid fall in a celebration that never ends.

In about 1915, Tokyo publisher Shōzaburō Watanabe coined the name of a new art movement: shin-hanga 新版画, ‘new prints’.

A mini exhibition that commemorates the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Rātana church.

Choose a photograph to blow up on the gallery wall.

The 1960s and 1970s were decades of social change and experimentation, and for photography they marked the beginnings of art photography in New Zealand.

The first comprehensive survey of one of New Zealand’s most influential modern artists.

Get up-close to some of China’s ancient imperial icons this summer.

Artist Kerry Ann Lee invites you to enter a dreamscape transit lounge. An installation accessible to ticket holders for ‘Terracotta Warriors: Guardians of Immortality’.

Objects linking Asia and Aotearoa New Zealand, representing over a century of connected and curious artists and collectors.

Women in Aotearoa New Zealand won the right to vote 125 years ago. With this exhibition, we honour women who fought, and continue to fight, for gender equality.

An art exhibition for kids that explores the magical, monstrous and imagined creatures drawn from the depths of Te Papa’s art collection.

An exhibition of Tony Fomison’s paintings, featuring monsters, misfits, and medical deformities that explores what it means to be an outsider.

From Te Papa’s art collection comes a dynamic exhibition across five galleries. The art works here explore identity and cross-cultural exchange.

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.

Whimsical but with a critical edge, ‘Détour’ is Michael Parekowhai’s response to the repositioning of contemporary art at Te Papa with the opening of the new gallery.

The 30-year evolution of world-renowned New Zealand jeweller Lisa Walker.

A celebration of mana wāhine, indigenous identities, and the role this collective has played over the past 26 years in giving voice and visibility to Māori and Pacific peoples in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Enter a giant, three-dimensional profile page.

With this art work, Jeena Shin responds to the architecture and environment of the space.

A fascinating slice of modern art, from surrealism to abstraction, featuring art works by Salvador Dalí, Roy Lichtenstein, René Magritte, Jackson Pollock, and Andy Warhol.

A festival for LEGO® lovers of all ages. This summer, go on a journey around the world through huge LEGO models – then pick up some bricks and start building!

With this exhibition, Te Papa marks the first national commemoration of the New Zealand Wars – Rā Maumahara, or Remembrance Day, 28 October 2017.

Shearer’s singlet, gumboots, shorts, floppy hat – who else could this outfit belong to but Fred Dagg? See the iconic outfit created by comedian John Clarke, on display at Te Papa.

This medal is the first official state gift given to a Māori chief by a foreign leader. Yet this national treasure vanished from Aotearoa New Zealand for over 200 years.

Explore the land, people, and stories of Rongowhakaata, an iwi whose unique art reflects their innate creativity, rich history, and innovative spirit.

New Zealand’s black jersey is rugby’s most potent symbol. Discover some of this country’s rugby legends – teams and players who embody the spirit of the black jersey.

See the Olympic gold medals and shoe won by New Zealander Peter Snell.

Te Papa and Weta Workshop bring you a science exhibition like no other – a spectacular, immersive experience ‘designed by bugs, for humans’.

Five New Zealand and five Australian artists respond to the history, legacy, and recent centenary of World War I.

Simon Denny’s acclaimed Venice Biennale exhibition Secret Power explores surveillance, espionage, and New Zealand’s role in the Five Eyes international intelligence alliance.

See Frances Parker’s Medal for Valour, awarded for her hunger strike protesting against voting inequality in Britain.

Exquisite European art and objects reveal how the Church, trade, and innovation influenced what was once considered the height of affluence.

Works by Derrick Cherrie, L Budd, Graham Fletcher, and others explore what happens when home life goes on display.

Gender, sexuality, and power – the 1970s photographs of this feminist artist have been described as ‘icons of fearlessness for women’.

Sculptor Matt Pine combines Māori and Pacific perspectives with American minimalism in a new version of his Placement Projects.

Jacqueline Fraser and Tracey Moffatt use popular culture, particularly that of cinematic film, to move their work into the realm of the creative imaginary.

The works of pioneering Māori artist Ralph Hotere, American minimalist artist Ad Reinhardt, and Māori minimalist sculptor Matt Pine are brought together in a surprising conversation.

Female artists enlivened modern art in New Zealand. Double portraits by Rita Angus, Frances Hodgkins, and A Lois White face off, and a little-known mural by White gets some wall time.

Adorned brings together paintings, prints, and cultural treasures to explore the art of adornment in Māori and Pacific cultures.

The exhibition drew on contemporary and historic objects from Te Papa and considered how objects can be connected across time.

Helen Hitchings’ vibrant dealer gallery was ground-breaking in its presentation of modern art and design in New Zealand.

New Zealand’s spectacular scenery captivated European artists and photographers who came here in the 1800s. With no works by Old Masters to copy, nature was their training ground.

Max Gimblett's brass quatrefoils are a glimmering message of peace and remembrance for all New Zealanders who served in World War I. A selection of these art works were on display in Ngā Toi │Arts Te Papa.

This three-panel light work – originally conceived of as ‘The Incredible Dream Zine Machine’ – invites you to make your own fanzine, or do-it-yourself magazine.

Uncover the fascinating stories behind scientific names – and help us name a new species.

This exhibition explored the successes, dramatic setbacks, and extraordinary resurgence of Ngāti Toa Rangatira, the local iwi (tribe) in the Wellington region and the top of the South Island.

Look up! Tiger Moth aeroplanes have a key place in the story of aerial topdressing – the technology that revolutionised New Zealand’s agriculture.

Feel the earth move under your feet, and see how seismic shifts created New Zealand’s landscapes.

Journey through New Zealand's diverse environments, from windy alpine peaks to gloomy sea beds.

Aotearoa New Zealand changed dramatically in the 20th century. Discover what united and divided us, and shaped our lives today. Decide whether New Zealand really is a ‘slice of heaven’.

Celebrate what makes us Kiwis tick. Junk shop objects come to life as historic moments play onscreen.

Information about Te Papa’s past exhibitions that opened in 2015. Including, DreamWorks Animation: The Exhibition, Contraception: Uncovering the collection of Dame Margaret Sparrow and The Canterbury earthquakes.

Past exhibitions that opened in 2014 – from The Berry Boys: Naming the Kiwi faces of World War I to Kāhui Raranga: The art of tukutuku.

Past exhibitions that opened in 2013 – from Chairman Mao’s Cloak to Aztecs: Conquest and glory.

Past exhibitions that opened in 2012 – from Buller's Birds: The art of Keulemans and Buchanan to Uniformity: Cracking the code.

Past exhibitions that opened in 2011 – from Tai Timu, Tai Pari, Tainui: Journey of a people to Collecting Contemporary.

Past exhibitions that opened in 2010 – from Brian Brake: Lens on the world to The Lure of Italy: Continental travel pictures from 1775 to 1840.

Past exhibitions that opened in 2009 – from Monet and the Impressionists to Kura Pounamu: Treasured stone of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Past exhibitions that opened in 2008 – from We are unsuitable for framing to Oddooki.

Information about Te Papa’s past exhibitions that opened in 2007 – from The Scots in New Zealand to Whales | Tohorā.

Past exhibitions that opened in 2006 – from Egypt: Beyond the tomb to Annie Bonza: Fashion explosion.

Past exhibitions that opened in 2005 – from The Genetic Revolution to Stamped: Celebrating New Zealand’s postal history.

Past exhibitions that opened in 2004 – from Out on the Street: New Zealand in the 1970s to Toi Te Papa Art of the Nation.

Past exhibitions that opened in 2003 – from Signs and Wonders | He Tohu He Ohorere to Wild Design.

Past exhibitions that opened between 1998 and 2002 – from Tūhoe: Children of the mist to The Time Warp.