He Toi Whakairo: The Art of Māori Carving – Te Papa celebrates seven centuries of Māori carving in landmark exhibition
EMBARGOED UNTIL 22 MAY 2026
Seven centuries. 147 taonga. One living, shape-shifting artform. Māori carving is taking centre stage at Te Papa.
He Toi Whakairo: The Art of Māori Carving is a major new long-term exhibition opening at Te Papa on 29 August 2026. It presents one of the most comprehensive exhibitions of whakairo (Māori carving) in more than four decades, when the historic Te Maori exhibition toured the USA.
Bringing together 147 taonga from Te Papa collections, the exhibition includes works dating back to the 1300s and those of leading contemporary carvers, revealing whakairo as a practice steeped in history and cultural identity and a living, evolving artform.
Visitors will encounter whakairo across a range of forms; taurapa (canoe sternpost), pounamu, poupou (house post), hoe (paddle), taiaha (weapon), taonga puoro (musical instrument), tokotoko (walking stick), karetao (marionette), adornment, and ritual taonga.
The works are carved in traditional and contemporary materials, from wood, bone, stone, pāua, and pounamu to uku (clay), and modern solid surface composites.
From Rangi Kipa’s 2.1 metre-tall hot pink poupou – carved in engineered stone usually seen in kitchen benchtops – to Ngaroma Riley’s puppet self-portrait Kapahaka Queen swinging poi, the exhibition features contemporary works that shake up traditional images of the artform.
Exhibition co-curator Dougal Austin says, “At the heart of the exhibition is the transmission of living knowledge: from stone tools to contemporary technologies, from inherited forms to bold new materials and colours”.
The exhibition features significant carvers of the 1800s–1900s alongside leading contemporary carvers: Tene Waitere, Hōne Ngatoto, Ānaha te Rāhui, Wero Tāroi, Charlie Tuarau, Dr Lyonel Grant, Rangi Kipa, Sam Hauwaho, Fayne Robinson, Clive Fugill, Matthew Randall, and Riki Manuel.
He Toi Whakairo foregrounds wāhine tā whakairo (female carvers) Stevei Houkāmau and Ngaroma Riley, reclaiming spaces historically dominated by men.
Jana Pātete, co-curator, acknowledges the historical precedents and the work of women carvers today.
“This exhibition brings together wāhine Māori artists who are navigating male-dominated carving traditions and reshaping them through their own whakapapa, resistance, and innovation.”
“To remind us that wāhine tā whakairo have always been here, we look back to figures like Jane Topia, who carved an entire wharenui in the 1930s.”
The timing of the exhibition is particularly significant for Te Papa, coming forty years after the historic Te Maori exhibition, which brought taonga Māori to the world stage.
Te Papa Kaihautū | Māori co-leader Dr Arapata Hakiwai expects the exhibition to draw global attention.
“From its strong foundation of mātauranga Māori and te ao Māori, this exhibition engages with global conversations around Indigenous art, museum practice, and cultural continuity.” The exhibition is guided by the whakatauākī (proverb) coined by Māori leader Piri Sciascia at the time of Te Maori: ‘He Toi Whakairo, He Mana Tangata | Where there is artistic excellence, there is human dignity’.
This five-year exhibition is supported by Wellington City Council, Te Papa Foundation, Go Media, Wellington Airport, and Dulux.
More info: tepapa.nz/HeToiWhakairo
Highlights/exhibition by numbers
Taonga never previously displayed to the public.
147 taonga from Te Papa collection.
Over 700 years of whakairo.
Works dating back to the 1300s.
9 taonga made/produced in the Wellington region.
Oldest: A pair of Rei Niho Paraoa (chevron type sperm whale tooth pendants) dated around the year 1300 making it the oldest taonga in the exhibition.
Biggest: At 3.4 metres tall is Matthew Randall’s pou tokomanawa Ko Ruapani.
Smallest: Uhi (tattooing chisel) 30mm x 10mm
Newest: commissioned for the exhibition, Sam Hauwaho carved Whaka-iro in 2025.
Heaviest: Wero Tāroi’s poupou Taporahitaua weighs 149kg.
ENDS
Media contact
Heather Byrne | 029 601 0120 | heather.byrne@tepapa.govt.nz
Images and captions
Please note that this content is being supplied to you for the purposes of the He Toi Whakairo press release only. Media may not crop, alter, or edit the images in any way without Te Papa’s prior permission. The content must be fully attributed as per the provided credit line(s).
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Wakahuia (treasure box), 1750-1850. Purchased 2004. Te Papa (ME023357) |
This cocoon-shaped waka huia (treasure box) has pāua shell–inlaid eyes and is fully carved with rauru spiral designs – rauru are rauponga, an alternating pattern of pākati (dog tooth pattern) notches and haehae (parallel grooves). Waka huia were used to store prized personal adornments like hei tiki (pendants in human form) and huia feathers (extinct New Zealand bird that Māori considered sacred) and a symbol of leadership and high status. Waka huia were hung from house rafters to protect their treasured contents. |
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Karetao (marionette), Kapahaka Queen by Ngaroma Riley, 2024. Purchased 2025. Te Papa (ME024850) |
Kapahaka Queen is a self-portrait in the form of hand-carved karetao (marionette). Created by Ngaroma Riley (Te Rarawa, Te Aupōuri, Pākehā), an artist and curator known for her karetao and love of chainsaws, her karetao are all self-portraits, reflecting the many roles she inhabits as Māori, Pākehā, mother, and artist. While living and working in Japan, Ngaroma spent time with skilled female carvers and the world of traditional Japanese carving techniques – this marked the beginning of her carving journey. Ngaroma is the founder of Te Ana o Hine, a wāhine-led carving studio in Auckland. |
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Hei tiki, Ruatepupuke by Stacy Gordine, 2009. Purchased 2010. Te Papa (2010-0025-1) |
Stacy Gordine (Ngāti Porou) is an innovative bone and stone carver known for pioneering the miniaturisation of large carved forms – like poupou – into hei tiki. Hei tiki are pendants that depict the human form, and of all Māori personal adornments are the most famous, highly prized and culturally iconic. This hei tiki is holding a poupou (side wall post) from the East Coast whare (house) Ruatepupuke II, now held by the Field Museum in Chicago. |
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Pātītī (hatchet), 1800-1900. Bequest of Kenneth Athol Webster, 1969. Te Papa (WE001873) |
Māori adapted European axe heads, made for cutting and splitting wood, into pātītī (hatchets) for close combat. Before the introduction of axe heads as trade items, the pātītī had no precedent in Māori weaponry. |
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Exhibition co-curator Dougal Austin with hoe urunga (steering paddle) by Clive Fugill, 2001. Photo by Tia Nepia-Su‘a, 2026, Te Papa |
Taonga pictured: Clive Fugill’s Hoe urunga (steering paddle). |
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Exhibition co-curators Dougal Austin and Jana Pātete with poupou (side wall post) Tamarau, by Rangi Kipa, 2019. Photo by Tia Nepia-Su‘a, 2026, Te Papa |
Taonga pictured: Rangi Kipa’s Poupou (side wall post) Tamarau. |
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Exhibition co-curators Jana Pātete and Dougal Austin with poupou (side wall post) Te Ngaru Ranapia, by Lyonel Grant, 2020. Photo by Tia Nepia-Su‘a, 2026, Te Papa |
Taonga pictured: Lyonel Grant’s Poupou (side wall post) Te Ngaru Ranapia. |
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Exhibition co-curators Dougal Austin and Jana Pātete with Whakapapa, by Stevei Houkāmau, 2021. Photo by Tia Nepia-Su‘a, 2026, Te Papa |
Taonga pictured: Stevei Houkāmau’s uku (clay) taonga Whakapapa. |
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Tekoteko (gable figure), 1850-1900. Te Papa (ME011429) |
This is one of two known Māori tekoteko (carved figures) which depict Mary and Jesus. An example of cultural exchange between Māori and Pākehā, it integrates Christian, and in particular Roman Catholic, beliefs with a Māori world view. The unknown carver has suggested the concept of the Virgin Mother of God by placing a full facial moko (tattoo) on the face of Mary. In doing so, he has likened her to an Ariki Tapairu, the firstborn female in a family of high rank. Ariki Tapairu were invested with special tapu (sacredness) and their full moko signified their status. The figure appears to be standing on a head, and in Māori symbolism, this is a reminder that man comes from woman. |
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Paepae pātaka (threshold for storehouse), 1650–1850. Oldman Collection. Gift of the New Zealand Government, 1992. Te Papa (OL000041) |
This paepae pataka (outer threshold of a storehouse) is likely of Taranaki origin, identifiable by its chevroned heads and a carved composition of five figures: three central figures, including a female, flanked by two terminating manaia. Pataka were important food storehouses whose carved decoration signalled a chief’s wealth, authority, and ability to provide for and protect their people. |
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Whakapapa by Stevei Houkāmau, 2021. Purchased 2021. Te Papa (ME024669) |
Whakapapa is an uku (clay) taonga developed and made by Stevei Houkāmau (Ngāti Porou, Te Whānau-ā-Apanui, and Rangitāne) in 2021. The taonga was inspired by her residency on the Santa Clara Reservation in New Mexico where working with heirloom seeds revealed whakapapa as a living, generational continuum. Taking the form of a large seed chain, drawing on Māori taonga such as tokotoko and notched vessels, Stevei uses seeds as tactile markers for genealogy, memory, and storytelling. Comprised of individually carved black, white, and brown clay seeds, the piece embodies Māori and Pacific whakapapa, reflecting past, present, and future generations as vessels carrying history, identity, and collective hope. |
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Hoe urunga (steering paddle) by Clive Fugill 2001. Purchased 2016. Te Papa (ME024210) |
Clive Fugill (Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Rangiwewehi) is a Tohunga Whakairo Rākau (Master Carver) and one of Aotearoa’s foremost practitioners of whakairo. Known for his leadership in the revitalisation of traditional Māori carving, he has been with the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute (NZMACI) since its first intake in 1967. Hoe urunga (steering paddle) is a finely carved paddle used to guide and control a waka (traditional canoeing and ocean voyaging). |
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Poupou (side wall post), Te Ngaru Ranapia by Lyonel Grant 2020. Commissioned by Te Papa (ME024645) |
Poupou (carved side wall post) |
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Poupou (side wall post), Tamarau, by Rangi Kipa 2019. Commissioned by Te Papa (ME024299) |
Rangi Kipa (Te Ātiawa, Taranaki, Ngāti Tama ki te Tauihu) is a renowned Māori sculptural artist, carver, and tā moko artist. This 2.1 metre-tall hot pink poupou (carved side wall post) is carved from engineered stone usually used in kitchen benchtops. |
About Te Papa
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is Aotearoa New Zealand’s much-loved national museum, and in 2025 was recognised by TripAdvisor as the country’s leading visitor attraction, ranking in the top one per cent of experiences worldwide.
Te Papa brings together art, history, science, and Māori and Pacific cultures through immersive, hands‑on experiences that invite curiosity and discovery. Its national art gallery houses the country’s national art collection across two floors.
At its heart, Te Papa is a celebration of Māori culture and identity, where visitors can experience contemporary and traditional Māori art, ancestral stories, and exhibitions that offer insight into how Māori culture shapes life in Aotearoa today.
The national museum cares for more than two million objects, is home to a major research centre, and is internationally recognised for its commitment to bicultural practice and the repatriation of Māori and Moriori ancestral remains. Through Te Papa Collections Online, more than one million taonga (treasures) are accessible to audiences around the world.
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