A black rectangle with a faint Māori design in the background with words in silver that say Te Maori 40th Anniversary

Te whakaaturanga o Te Maori – Toi Māori ki te aoTe Maori exhibition – Toi Māori on the world stage

Ko Te Maori tonu he kaupapa i whakaara i te ahurea Māori, i noho hoki hei matapihi mō tāwāhi ki ngā taonga Māori. Atu i te tau 1984 ki te tau 1986 ka tāpoi te whakaaturanga i Amerika, ā, i te hokinga mai ka tapaina ko Te Maori: Te Hokinga Mai The Return Home.

E riakina ana te whakaaturanga o Te Maori i tōna panoni i ngā whakariterite a ngā whare taonga me ngā taiwhanga toi i ngā taonga Māori.

Ko tōna 174 o ngā taonga a ngā iwi i tāwharautia ki ngā whare taonga puta noa i te motu. O ēnei taonga, 38 i noho ki te National Museum, arā, te mātārere o Te Papa.

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From 1984 to 1986, theTe Maori exhibition was a pivotal moment in Māori cultural revival showcasing traditional artwork on the international stage. It toured the United States from 1984 to 1986, then when it returned home, it toured Aotearoa New Zealand as Te Maori: Te Hokinga Mai The Return Home.

Te Maori is widely acclaimed as an exhibition that changed the way that museums and art galleries interpreted and managed taonga Māori.

The exhibition consisted of 174 taonga from different iwi that were in New Zealand museums throughout the Aotearoa. Of these taonga, 38 came from the National Museum, the predecessor of Te Papa.

Te Maori and Te Māori Te Hokinga Mai – The return home

A piece of flat leafed plant on a piece of greenstone

Te Maori – the exhibition timeline

The pivotal Te Maori exhibition stands as one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most significant cultural achievements, celebrated both domestically and internationally. Read how it came about including the timeline of key events leading up to its opening in New York in September 1984.

A black and white photo of an airport runway with part of a plane and a luggage transport cart and trailer in the foreground

View the images showing the Te Maori taonga arriving home from America

Once the Te Maori exhibition completed touring the American museums, the taonga (treasures) were flown home to Aotearoa. View the images of Tangata Whenua welcoming the taonga home.

Watch: Te Maori – A Celebration of the People and their Art

In this 1985 short documentary, narrator Don Selwyn Maru sets out to summarise the key elements of Māori culture and history and the opening of the landmark exhibition Te Maori in New York in 1984.

Watch on Iwi Whitiāhua NZOnScreen’s website.

Watch: Koha – Te Maori, a Cloak of Words

When 174 important taonga (treasures) travelled from Aotearoa to New York for the Te Maori exhibition, people had to go too – the Metropolitan Museum in New York had to be warmed, the tapu or sacred restrictions of the new place had to be dealt with, and the cloak of words had to dress the taonga.

Watch on Iwi Whitiāhua NZ On Screen.

Watch: Koha – Te Maori Guard, New York

This episode of Koha in 1985 shows two unique perspectives on the Te Maori exhibition in America with interviews with Indigenous Seneca artist Peter Jemison, and John Kaaho, a Tūhoe security guard and kaitiaki (guardian) from Ruatāhuna for the New York exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Watch on Iwi Whitiāhua NZOnScreen’s website.

Kōrero and responses to Te Maori

Five young schoolgirls are sitting under a tree,

Watch: The legacy of Te Maori – Te Waipounamu, a South Island experience

National Services Te Paerangi shares the kōrero of Māori who worked in and with museums throughout the past 40 years. They reflect on the influence Te Maori had on their lives and the ways they engage with taonga.

Watch: Kōrero – Mana Wāhine, Mana Taonga

Watch the kōrero from wāhine Māori as they discuss the importance of wāhine representation in Māori arts, and what has shifted since the 1984 international exhibition, Te Maori.

Five people are sitting on a stage in a half circle. There is a large green screen behind them with a stylised design of a hei tiki.

Watch: Taringa Podcast live – Te Maori

A special live recording of a Taringa Podcast episode, focusing on the 40th anniversary of the Te Maori exhibition – with Honiara Love and Atawhai Tibble.

Eight people are sitting in front of an audience while one man is standing at the end talking to them. They are all smiling.

Watch: Re-Imagining Museums panel talk, Tairāwhiti Museum

Tairawhiti Museum and National Services Te Paerangi hosted a panel talk reflecting on the 40 years since Te Maori, sharing insights on the current landscape, and future directions for museum spaces with Tapuhi Broughton-Tuapawa, Victor Walker, Ana Sciascia, Dr Arapata Hakiwai, Vicki-Anne Heikell, Dr Sandy Adsett, Dr David Butts, and Paora Tibble.

Watch the panel talk at on Turanga FM Media’s YouTube channel.

Megan Tamati-Quinnell. Photo by Kate Whitley. Te Papa (231216)

Blog: Indigenous art curatorial practice; ideas and observations

In 2016, Curator Contemporary Māori Art Megan Tamati-Quinell was invited to be on a panel about Indigenious art curatorial practice at a symposium, where she talked about Te Maori, its influences, and legacies – including curatorial practice – and asks about the development of contemporary Maori art curators as well as her own practice.

Blog: Te Maori – 25th year anniversary

2009 marked the 25th anniversary of the exhibition Te Maori. Then Curator Māori Awhina Tamarapa reflects on the effect that exhibition and the following exhibition Te Māori – Te Hokinga Mai that toured Aotearoa New Zealand after it's international success.