Free museum entry for New Zealanders and people living in New Zealand
Open every day 10am-6pm
(except Christmas Day)
Free museum entry for New Zealanders and people living in New Zealand
A free drop-in session by contemporary artists featured in the He Toi Whakairo: The Art of Māori Carving. Experience live whakairo, create your own karetao, meet artists, and ask questions.
When | Āhea
Sat 29 Aug 2026, 11.00am to 2.00pm
Where | Ki hea
Mana Whenua and Te Huka a Tai, Level 4
Cost | Te utu
Free with museum entry
Accessibility
Wheelchair accessible
Variable lighting in some spaces
Join us for a day of hands-on activities and conversations with ringawhao Ngaroma Riley, and Stevei Houkāmau, whose works feature in He Toi Whakairo.
Throughout the day, visitors can come to free drop-in workshops:
Learn about the traditions and stories behind karetao (articulated marionette figure), then make your own to take home.
Experience the art of whakairo by observing a live uku carving. Learn techniques from Stevei of how whakairo can change with different materials.
Join an informal question-and-answer session with the Ngaroma and Stevei, who will be stationed alongside their taonga in He Toi Whakairo.
Ngaroma Riley (Te Rarawa, Te Aupōuri, Pākehā)
Artist Ngaroma Riley is based in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. Riley first started carving while she was living in Japan. Since moving back to Aotearoa, she has become known for her karetao. These include playful self portraits as a mother, artist, Pākeha, and Māori. Riley is one of a new generation of wāhine whakairo in Aotearoa helping to bring more attention to women carvers.
Stevei Houkāmau (Ngāti Porou, Te Whānau-ā-Apanui)
Stevei Houkāmau is a contemporary Māori artist working across uku, sculpture, adornment and installation. Recognised internationally, her practice treats clay not as a fixed tradition, but as a living language through which whakapapa can be carved, carried, and pushed forward. Drawing from tā moko, whakairo and Indigenous systems of knowledge, Houkāmau creates bold, highly resolved forms that move between taonga, body, and architecture.
Opening 29 August 2026: Experience over 140 whakairo (carvings) spanning seven centuries – many never exhibited before. He Toi Whakairo showcases creativity, ancestral narratives, and contemporary innovation. Every carving is an expression of artistic excellence and human dignity.
Opening 29 Aug 2026
29 August 2026 – August 2031
Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga
Visit three karetao-puoro (instruments that are figures too) created by artist James Webster to give karetao a voice by incorporating taonga puoro into their design. Watch the whānau of karetao in action in Tokotū (Rise Up), the story of Ranginui and Papatūānuku.
On now
Wed 5 Jun – mid 2026
Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga
Our exciting programme of events runs all year. Watch song and dance performances, join in with kids activities and cultural days, hear from our experts, and much more.
