2011 News and media releases

Remembering Artist Don Driver at Te Papa

13 December 2011 - Te Papa is sad to report the news that contemporary New Zealand artist Don Driver died on 8 December 2011.

Continuing the legacy of Colin McCahon at Te Papa

5 December 2011 - Te Papa is thrilled to announce its latest acquisition, a major painting by renowned New Zealand artist Colin McCahon.

Te Papa welcomes Venice Biennale piano to collection

5 December 2011 - Following its success at la Biennale di Venezia and seasons in Paris and Christchurch, He Korero Purakau mo te Awanui o te Motu: story of a New Zealand river by Michael Parekowhai will be welcomed into the national art collection in 2012.

Solar challenge comes to Te Papa

29 November 2011 - Round the world solar challenge comes to Te Papa

Forum at Te Papa: Voting System Referendum

11 November 2011 - Te Papa is holding a Forum on the Referendum, which is taking place at the same time as the 2011 General Election.

Phar Lap preparing to go back on display

2 November 2011 - Conservators and curators at Te Papa have called in expert advice from a veterinary anatomy academic as they prepare the skeleton of New Zealand’s most famous race horse, Phar Lap, to be redisplayed in early 2012.

Scientists film hagfish anti-shark slime weapon

27 October 2011 - The hagfish found in New Zealand’s deepest waters is grotesque enough, thanks to its scary protruding teeth straight from a horror film.

Thousands share the story of Ka Mate at Te Papa

25 October 2011 - The story of Ngati Toa chief Te Rauparaha and whether or not he was going to live or die is now etched in the hearts of visitors around the world, following the hugely successful Ka Mate exhibition at Te Papa.

Auction for Christchurch

9 September 2011 - Te Papa Picture Library and the Brian Brake Estate, with the support of Image Lab and Trade Me have organised an online charity auction to raise funds for the Red Cross Canterbury Earthquake Appeal Fund.

Ka Mate – The Exhibition

8 September 2011 - Ngati Toa Rangatira is proud to announce the opening of Ka Mate – The Exhibition at Te Papa as part of the Real NZ Festival.

Tainui children create art for display in Te Papa

27 August 2011 - Students from Te Wharekura o te Kaokaoroa o Pātetere in Putāruru have been working hard to produce stunning artworks to be displayed in Te Papa from Saturday 3rd September until June 2012.

Te Papa begins consultation on its proposed vision and strategy for the future

21 July 2011 - Te Papa is committed to developing a long term strategy, which will build on the past and guide the museum through the next ten years.

Scholarly research now available online

12 July 2011 - On 30 June 2011, Te Papa released its annual scholarly journal, Tuhinga, online for the first time. The complete contents of this year’s issue and the previous 4 issues have been published online by Te Papa Press through Te Papa’s Collections Online.

A unique chapter in New Zealand’s fashion history, ‘New Zealand in Vogue’

15 June 2011 - New Zealand in Vogue explores an influential decade of New Zealand’s fashion history when New Zealand had its own Vogue magazine.

Oceania: An unprecedented glimpse into the soul of the Pacific

8 June 2011 - Oceania, an exhibition celebrating the vibrant cultural and artistic life of Aotearoa New Zealand and the Pacific region, will be displayed at both Te Papa and City Gallery Wellington from 6 August through to 6 November 2011.

Celebrate Māori New Year with the Matariki Festival at Te Papa, 9 June – 26 June 2011

27 May 2011 - In early June the star cluster Matariki (the Pleiades or the Seven Sisters) will reappear in our dawn skies.

New contemporary art exhibition to open at Te Papa

24 May 2011 - Te Papa is actively committed to collecting a wide range of art, and the new exhibition, Collecting Contemporary, highlights some of the contemporary art acquired between 2006 and 2011.

First repatriation of Māori remains from Rouen Museum, France

9 May 2011 - The first repatriation of Toi Moko (tattooed preserved heads) from France will take place from the Rouen Museum today, 9th May 2011.

International Museums Day 2011

17 May 2011 - Borrowing material from New Zealand’s national collections is now set to become simpler than ever, with the launch of Te Papa’s new loans web page.

Experience Te Papa’s new touring Māori exhibition

21 March 2011 - Te Papa presents a preview of its new touring exhibition E Tū Ake: Standing Strong before it commences an international tour in October.

Treaty Debates 2011 at Te Papa – new challenges going forward

18 January 2011 - Returning for its seventh consecutive year to Te Papa, this highly anticipated series of debates will explore the Treaty of Waitangi in the light of proposed changes to the foreshore and seabed legislation, and power sharing in the 21st century.