He Toi Whakairo: The Art of Māori Carving – Te Papa celebrates seven centuries of Māori carving in landmark exhibition (for international travel media)

EMBARGOED UNTIL 22 MAY 2026

From a 15th-century flute to a hot pink poupou panel, a major new exhibition at New Zealand’s national museum shines a spotlight on the enduring art of Māori carving.

Opening on 29 August 2026 at Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, He Toi Whakairo: The Art of Māori Carving brings together 147 taonga (treasures) one of the most comprehensive exhibitions of whakairo (Māori carving) in more than four decades.

All taonga in the exhibition are from collections at Te Papa, with many being shown publicly for the first time.

The exhibition comes at a time when traditional Māori arts and culture, including te reo Māori (Māori language), tā moko (traditional Māori tattoo), and kapa haka (Māori performing arts), have seen a renaissance in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Ancient carved treasure boxes and tattooing instruments will feature alongside contemporary works that shake up traditional images of the artform, including Rangi Kipa’s monumental 2.1 metre-tall hot pink poupou (wall panel), carved from a fabricated material more commonly used for kitchen benchtops.

“He Toi Whakairo shows Māori carving as a dynamic artform that continues to evolve through new technologies, materials, identities and artistic voices, rather than as a tradition frozen in time”, says co-curator Dougal Austin.

The exhibition also features works by wāhine tā whakairo (women carvers), including Ngaroma Riley’s poi swinging puppet self-portrait Kapahaka Queen.

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.”

He Toi Whakairo comes four decades after the landmark Te Maori exhibition toured the United States, receiving international acclaim that contributed to a Māori cultural revival. Te Maori also led to the creation of Te Papa, New Zealand’s national museum.

Te Papa is internationally respected for its bicultural foundation, developed through the principle of Mana Taonga, which recognises the living relationships between taonga, source communities, and museums. This approach has positioned Te Papa as a global leader in collaborative museum practice, Indigenous knowledge, and the care, research, and repatriation of Māori and Moriori ancestral remains from museums and collections around the world.

Te Papa Kaihautū | Māori co-leader Dr Arapata Hakiwai expects the exhibition to draw global attention.

“For many international visitors, Māori carving is encountered only briefly – perhaps through tourism adventures or architecture. This exhibition offers something far deeper: the chance to experience the scale, innovation, spirituality, and continuing evolution of whakairo across seven centuries.”

“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 provenance of many historical Māori carvings was lost during the colonial era, which means many carvings that will feature in He Toi Whakairo were created by unknown makers and iwi (tribe) of origin.

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’.

He Toi Whakairo runs from 29 August 2026 for five years and is included with museum entry. International visitor entry tickets to Te Papa cost $35NZD for visitors aged 16 years and over and are valid for 48 hours.

From September 2026, the exhibition will be included in the Māori Highlights and Introduction to Te Papa guided tours, which costs from $50NZD for adults, or $25NZD for 5 to15-year olds.

He Toi Whakairo is supported by Wellington City Council, Te Papa Foundation, Go Media, Wellington Airport, and Dulux.

More info: tepapa.nz/HeToiWhakairo

Exhibition highlights

More than 700 years of whakairo (carving), with works dating back to the 1300s.
147 taonga from Te Papa collection, including taonga never previously displayed publicly.
Works carved in both traditional and contemporary materials, from wood, bone, stone, pāua, pounamu, and plant materials to uku (clay), steel, and modern solid-surface composites.
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

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Image	Caption	Context
1.	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.
2.	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.
3.	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.
4.	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.
5.	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).
6.	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.
7.	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.
8.	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.
9.	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.
10.	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.
11.	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.
12.	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).
13.	Poupou (side wall post), Te Ngaru Ranapia by Lyonel Grant 2020. Commissioned by Te Papa (ME024645)	Poupou (carved side wall post)
14.	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 national museum, and one of the country’s must‑visit attractions. Set on Wellington’s waterfront in the capital city, Te Papa has been recognised by TripAdvisor as New Zealand’s leading visitor attraction and ranks in the top one per cent of experiences worldwide.

Part museum, part cultural playground, Te Papa brings together art, history, science, and Māori and Pacific cultures through immersive, hands‑on experiences that invite curiosity and discovery. Known for making big ideas engaging and accessible, it’s the only place in the world where you can see a complete colossal squid on public display!

At its heart, Te Papa is a celebration of Māori culture and identity, and visitors can expect powerful taonga (treasures), contemporary and traditional Māori art, ancestral stories, and exhibitions that offer insight into how Māori culture shapes life in Aotearoa today.

Behind the scenes, Te Papa cares for more than two million objects, is home to the country’s national art collection and 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.

Free for New Zealanders, and NZD $35 for international visitors, Te Papa offers access to one of the world’s most dynamic museums exploring indigenous, national, and Pacific stories.