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Museum of New Zealand

Te Papa Tongarewa

Past exhibitions: Art and photography

View art and photography exhibitions presented at Te Papa, going back to 1998.

This Swaying Earth

A suite of new exhibitions where artists and makers express their relationships with the natural world.

Arranging Nature

This exhibition features works by artists and photographers including George Vernon Hudson, Nancy Adams, John Buchanan, Sarah Featon, Herbert Dobbie, and Ayesha Green.

Closed

23 Sep 2023 – 19 May 2024

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Wayne Barrar: Mai i te Pūranga Kōata | From the Glass Archive

Diatoms are tiny organisms that live in oceans, rivers, and lakes. The 19th century saw a craze for arranging the silica skeleton fossils of diatoms and other micro-organisms on glass slides for viewing through microscopes. Photographer Wayne Barrar has delved into this ‘glass archive’ to explore its microscopic wonders.

Closed

23 Sep 2023 – 19 May 2024

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

This Natural World

This exhibition demonstrates how artists and makers work with nature – using forms and materials to connect with knowledge and stories held in the natural world around us.

Closed

23 Sep 2023 – 19 May 2024

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

یکی بود یکی نبود | Tērā te Wā | Memory Spaces

Persian stories often begin with یکی بود یکی نبود (‘yeki bood, yeki nabood’), or ‘one was, one was not’. Here, artworks by Selina Ershadi and Pauline Rhodes explore ideas of presence and absence to tell stories about place and memory.

Closed

23 Sep 2023 – 19 May 2024

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Hīnaki: Contemplation of a Form

This exhibition provides a broad experience of hīnaki (eel traps). As well as displaying these taonga, it focusses on two early museum expeditions, Māori relationships with two significant rivers, and contemporary artworks related or responding to hīnaki.

Closed

10 Jun 2023 – 19 May 2024

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Landscape and Desire

This exhibition explores the different ways that artists in Aotearoa have expressed their relationship to the land – to the places we live in.

Closed

8 Oct 2022 – 19 May 2024

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Tanya Ashken

Over the last 60 years, Tanya Ashken has produced a remarkable body of work as a sculptor, silversmith, and jeweller. Her practice responds to the energy and rhythms of the world around her. This group of works highlights the diversity of Ashken's practice.

Closed

23 Sep 2022 – 19 May 2024

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

New Histories: Lisa Reihana and William Dunning

In New Histories, contemporary works by Lisa Reihana and William Dunning scrutinise New Zealand history and the power dynamics between settler and Māori cultures.

Closed

15 Oct 2021 – 19 May 2024

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

The Perfect Moment

These photographs are a glimpse into The Spencer Digby - Ronald D. Woolf Collection.

Closed

Sat 4 Nov – 19 May 2024

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Mataaho Collective: Te Puni Aroaro

Experience the ground-breaking artworks of Mataaho Collective – four wāhine Māori artists who have worked together for the last decade.

Closed

18 Dec 2022 – 28 Jan 2024

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Through Shaded Glass

This exhibition draws on a major new publication from Te Papa Press and curator Lissa Mitchell. It presents a selection of portraits made by women photographers, and studio operators and employees, between 1860 and 1960.

Closed

7 Jun – 31 Oct 2023

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Kate Newby: SHE’S TALKING TO THE WALL

Nearly 1,000 wind chimes hang in front of you. Aotearoa New Zealand artist Kate Newby made this expansive artwork over 10 years. Through clay and glass, she explores how natural materials transform when shaped and fired.

Closed

9 Dec 2022 – 19 May 2024

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Dane Mitchell: Iris, Iris, Iris

Dane Mitchell’s Iris, Iris, Iris merges the visible world with the invisible, using the many meanings of the word ‘iris’ to explore the senses of smell and sight.

Closed

9 Dec 2022 – 27 Aug 2023

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Kaleidoscope: Abstract Aotearoa

An exploration of colour, shape, and pattern in the Pacific.

Closed

17 Mar 2018 – 2 Apr 2023

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Celebrating Katherine Mansfield

January 2023 marks 100 years since the death of Wellington-born writer Katherine Mansfield, whose stories are celebrated the world over.

Closed

6 Dec 2022 – 13 March 2023

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Forceps Delivery: A print series by John Foster

These 12 lithographs tell a story of family life, childbirth, and parenthood – unusually, from the point of view of the father. They offer a fresh view of late 20th-century New Zealand art from a largely self-taught artist.

Closed

17 Sep 2022 – 05 Mar 2023

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Worlds Within: Photobooks of Aotearoa New Zealand

Lifting the lid on the photobook phenomenon and the art of the whole book as a creative work.

Closed

19 Aug – 28 Nov 2022

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Robin White: Something Is Happening Here

More than 50 works from across Dame Robin White’s 50-year career will form what the artist describes as a ‘family reunion’, bringing together works from 22 galleries and living rooms across the country. 

Closed

4 Jun – 18 Sep 2022

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Mikala Dwyer: The silverings

Hundreds of zeros hover above you.

Closed

21 Jun – 18 Sep 2022

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

A Fluid Art: Watercolours 1778–1900

This exhibition shows a selection from the 339 works gifted to the National Art Gallery (now Te Papa) by Archdeacon Francis Henry Dumville Smythe (1873–1966) in 1957.

Closed

18 Mar – 10 Sep 2022

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Tiffany Singh: Indra’s bow

Spices, herbs, gemstones, and other natural materials believed to have healing properties are arranged here in a rainbow, a vision of hope and new beginnings. Fair-trade bells hang on the ribbons, and below them is a salt mandala – a symbol of cleansing and ritual.

Closed

17 Mar 2018 – 20 Nov 2022

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Tiffany Singh: Total internal reflection

How are you feeling? This experimental installation invites you to choose a colour based on how you feel right now. Press a button and become part of an evolving communal light sculpture.

Closed

17 Mar 2018 – 26 Oct 2022

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Rita Angus: New Zealand Modernist

Rita Angus created a distinctive vision of a new, modern New Zealand. This landmark exhibition celebrates 40 years of her work.

Closed

18 Dec 2021 – 25 Apr 2022

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

in Pursuit of Venus [infected]

See Lisa Reihana’s vast digital wallpaper for the first time in Aotearoa New Zealand since its showing at the 2017 Venice Biennale.

Closed

15 Oct 2021 – 31 Jul 2022

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Shadow Play

A selection of photos that play with perception.

Closed

2 Oct 2021 – 15 Mar 2022

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Finding Shape: Sriwhana Spong and Vivian Lynn

In 'Finding Shape' artworks by Sriwhana Spong and Vivian Lynn explore how experience is shaped by the body and mind.

Closed

10 Mar – 28 May 2023

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Surrealist Art: Masterpieces from Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen

Enter the marvellous world of surrealism. See extraordinary artworks by Salvador Dalí, René Magritte, Marcel Duchamp, Leonora Carrington, Man Ray, and more. Astonishing, surprising, and only at Te Papa.

Closed

12 Jun – 31 Oct 2021

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Surrealist Impulse

Surrealist Impulse explores a local and Māori relationship with surrealism through works by two leading artists – Michael Parekowhai and Shane Cotton.

Closed

6 Jul - 31 Dec 2021

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

The Back of the Painting

Based on the new book ‘The Back of the Painting’ from Te Papa Press, view a work from our collection – both the artwork and what is on the back of the painting – and unpick the story it tells.

Closed

Apr 8 – Jul 29 2021

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Lemi Ponifasio – MAU: House of Night and Day

‘MAU: House of Night and Day’ is a major installation by renowned director, choreographer and multidisciplinary artist Lemi Ponifasio.

Closed

24 Feb – 4 Oct 2020

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Wish You Were Here: Early Photo Postcards in New Zealand

A selection of postcards offering views of popular travel destinations in Aotearoa New Zealand from more than a hundred years ago.

Closed

24 Feb – 5 Apr 2021

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Chiharu Shiota: The web of time

The web of time, an installation by Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota, creates the vision of a night sky studded with constellations of numbers.

Closed

12 Dec 2020 – 14 Nov 2021

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Douglas MacDiarmid

We warmly remember Douglas MacDiarmid (1922–2020) with six colourful sketches he drew of his friend Helen Hitchings hitchhiking through France in 1953.

Closed

4 Nov 2020 – 15 Jan 2021

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Modern Living: Design in 1950s New Zealand

The 1952 Auckland exhibition Art and Design introduced New Zealanders to a vision for a more equal, happier way of life that grew from the devastation of World War II. Modern Living offers a lens into this ground-breaking exhibition, and an exciting era of new design in Aotearoa.

Closed

22 Aug 2020 – 26 Apr 2021

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Tamatea: Legacies of Encounter

This exhibition presents a new acquisition, a painting by William Hodges, in conversation with Ngāi Tahu whānui taonga and artworks by Mark Adams and Colin McCahon. Together, they speak to the legacies – artistic, cultural, and scientific – generated by the first meeting of James Cook and southern Māori.

Closed

9 Nov 2019 – 26 Jul 2020

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Featon’s Flowers

A collection of exquisite botanical watercolours from the late 19th century, showcasing New Zealand’s native flowers.

Closed

19 Oct 2019 – 10 Feb 2020

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Tatau: Sāmoan Tattooing and Photography

This exhibition presents the work of four photographers who capture the dynamic practice of contemporary Sāmoan tatau (tattooing) over the last 40 years.

Nike Savvas – Finale: Bouquet

‘Finale: Bouquet’ captures a moment of jubilation, with confetti caught mid fall in a celebration that never ends.

Closed

8 Aug 2019 – 12 Jan 2020

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Shin-hanga: Japan’s ‘New Print’ Movement

In about 1915, Tokyo publisher Shōzaburō Watanabe coined the name of a new art movement: shin-hanga 新版画, ‘new prints’.

Closed

26 Jul – 14 Oct 2019

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Blow-up

Choose a photograph to blow up on the gallery wall.

Closed

15 Jun – 13 Oct 2019

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

The New Photography – Life in the 60s and 70s

The 1960s and 1970s were decades of social change and experimentation, and for photography they marked the beginnings of art photography in New Zealand.

Closed

15 Jun – 13 Oct 2019

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Gordon Walters: New Vision

The first comprehensive survey of one of New Zealand’s most influential modern artists.

Closed

15 Jun – 13 Oct 2019

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Terracotta Warriors: Guardians of Immortality

Get up-close to some of China’s ancient imperial icons this summer.

Closed

15 Dec 2018 – 22 Apr 2019

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Kerry Ann Lee: Return to Skyland

Artist Kerry Ann Lee invites you to enter a dreamscape transit lounge. An installation accessible to ticket holders for ‘Terracotta Warriors: Guardians of Immortality’.

Closed

15 Dec 2018 – 22 Apr 2019

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Things Seen and Heard

Objects linking Asia and Aotearoa New Zealand, representing over a century of connected and curious artists and collectors.

Closed

21 Sep 2018 – 21 Jul 2019

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Curious Creatures & Marvellous Monsters

An art exhibition for kids that explores the magical, monstrous and imagined creatures drawn from the depths of Te Papa’s art collection.

Closed

18 Aug – 4 Nov 2018

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Tony Fomison: Lost in the Dark

An exhibition of Tony Fomison’s paintings, featuring monsters, misfits, and medical deformities that explores what it means to be an outsider.

Closed

18 Aug – 4 Nov 2018

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Tūrangawaewae: Art and New Zealand

From Te Papa’s art collection comes a dynamic exhibition across five galleries. The art works here explore identity and cross-cultural exchange.

Closed

17 Mar 2018 – 13 Sep 2021

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Encounters

These portraits represent mana - power and prestige. Some trumpet the status of European royalty, Māori leaders, or prosperous colonial settlers in New Zealand. Others advertise the skills of the artist. All carry with them stories from the past into the present.

Closing soon

Closing 19 May 2024

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Détour by Michael Parekowhai

Whimsical but with a critical edge, ‘Détour’ is Michael Parekowhai’s response to the repositioning of contemporary art at Te Papa with the opening of the new gallery.

Closed

17 Mar – 8 Nov 2018

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Lisa Walker: I want to go to my bedroom but I can’t be bothered

The 30-year evolution of world-renowned New Zealand jeweller Lisa Walker.

Closed

17 Mar – 22 Jul 2018

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Pacific Sisters: Fashion Activists

A celebration of mana wāhine, indigenous identities, and the role this collective has played over the past 26 years in giving voice and visibility to Māori and Pacific peoples in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Closed

17 Mar – 15 Jul 2018

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Janet Lilo: Top16

Enter a giant, three-dimensional profile page.

Closed

17 Mar 2018 – 13 Sep 2021

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Jeena Shin: Movement image time. Te Papa

With this art work, Jeena Shin responds to the architecture and environment of the space.

Closed

17 Mar 2018 – 26 Apr 2021

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Modern Masters

A fascinating slice of modern art, from surrealism to abstraction, featuring art works by Salvador Dalí, Roy Lichtenstein, René Magritte, Jackson Pollock, and Andy Warhol.

Closed

12 Mar - 9 Sep 2018

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Rā Maumahara | New Zealand Wars

With this exhibition, Te Papa marks the first national commemoration of the New Zealand Wars – Rā Maumahara, or Remembrance Day, 28 October 2017.

Closed

27 Oct 2017 – 19 Aug 2018

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Anzac Centenary Print Portfolio

Five New Zealand and five Australian artists respond to the history, legacy, and recent centenary of World War I.

Closed

16 Sep 2016 – 26 Feb 2017

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Simon Denny: Secret Power

Simon Denny’s acclaimed Venice Biennale exhibition Secret Power explores surveillance, espionage, and New Zealand’s role in the Five Eyes international intelligence alliance.

Closed

7 Sep 2016 – 26 Feb 2017

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

European Splendour 1500–1800

Exquisite European art and objects reveal how the Church, trade, and innovation influenced what was once considered the height of affluence.

Closed

31 Aug 2016 – 26 Feb 2017

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Open Home: Contemporary New Zealand artists explore home life

Works by Derrick Cherrie, L Budd, Graham Fletcher, and others explore what happens when home life goes on display.

Closed

31 Aug 2016 – 26 Feb 2017

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Alexis Hunter: The model’s revenge

Gender, sexuality, and power – the 1970s photographs of this feminist artist have been described as ‘icons of fearlessness for women’.

Closed

31 Aug 2016 – 26 Feb 2017

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Matt Pine: Placement Projects revisited

Sculptor Matt Pine combines Māori and Pacific perspectives with American minimalism in a new version of his Placement Projects.

Closed

31 Aug 2016 – 26 Feb 2017

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Filmic imaginaries: Jacqueline Fraser and Tracey Moffatt

Jacqueline Fraser and Tracey Moffatt use popular culture, particularly that of cinematic film, to move their work into the realm of the creative imaginary.

Closed

31 Aug 2016 – 26 Feb 2017

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Māori minimalism and international influence

The works of pioneering Māori artist Ralph Hotere, American minimalist artist Ad Reinhardt, and Māori minimalist sculptor Matt Pine are brought together in a surprising conversation.

Closed

31 Aug 2016 – 26 Feb 2017

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

New Visions, New Zealand

Female artists enlivened modern art in New Zealand. Double portraits by Rita Angus, Frances Hodgkins, and A Lois White face off, and a little-known mural by White gets some wall time.

Closed

24 Aug 2016 – 26 Feb 2017

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Adorned

Adorned brings together paintings, prints, and cultural treasures to explore the art of adornment in Māori and Pacific cultures.

Closed

24 Aug 2016 – 26 Feb 2017

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Inspired: Ceramics and jewellery shaped by the past

The exhibition drew on contemporary and historic objects from Te Papa and considered how objects can be connected across time.

Closed

24 Aug – 19 Sep 2016

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

The Gallery of Helen Hitchings

Helen Hitchings’ vibrant dealer gallery was ground-breaking in its presentation of modern art and design in New Zealand.

Closed

24 Aug 2016 – 26 Feb 2017

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Framing the View

New Zealand’s spectacular scenery captivated European artists and photographers who came here in the 1800s. With no works by Old Masters to copy, nature was their training ground.

Closed

24 Aug 2016 – 26 Feb 2017

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

The Art of Remembrance

Max Gimblett's brass quatrefoils are a glimmering message of peace and remembrance for all New Zealanders who served in World War I. A selection of these art works were on display in Ngā Toi │Arts Te Papa.

Closed

16 Mar – 7 Aug 2016

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

Knowledge on a beam of starlight

This three-panel light work – originally conceived of as ‘The Incredible Dream Zine Machine’ – invites you to make your own fanzine, or do-it-yourself magazine.

Closed

22 Aug 2014 – 31 Mar 2016

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

2015 past exhibitions

Information about Te Papa’s past exhibitions that opened in 2015. Including, DreamWorks Animation: The Exhibition, Contraception: Uncovering the collection of Dame Margaret Sparrow and The Canterbury earthquakes.

2014 past exhibitions

Past exhibitions that opened in 2014 – from The Berry Boys: Naming the Kiwi faces of World War I to Kāhui Raranga: The art of tukutuku.

2013 past exhibitions

Past exhibitions that opened in 2013 – from Chairman Mao’s Cloak to Aztecs: Conquest and glory.

2012 past exhibitions

Past exhibitions that opened in 2012 – from Buller's Birds: The art of Keulemans and Buchanan to Uniformity: Cracking the code.

2011 past exhibitions

Past exhibitions that opened in 2011 – from Tai Timu, Tai Pari, Tainui: Journey of a people to Collecting Contemporary.

2010 past exhibitions

Past exhibitions that opened in 2010 – from Brian Brake: Lens on the world to The Lure of Italy: Continental travel pictures from 1775 to 1840.

2009 past exhibitions

Past exhibitions that opened in 2009 – from Monet and the Impressionists to Kura Pounamu: Treasured stone of Aotearoa New Zealand.

2008 past exhibitions

Past exhibitions that opened in 2008 – from We are unsuitable for framing to Oddooki.

2007 past exhibitions

Information about Te Papa’s past exhibitions that opened in 2007 – from The Scots in New Zealand to Whales | Tohorā.

2006 past exhibitions

Past exhibitions that opened in 2006 – from Egypt: Beyond the tomb to Annie Bonza: Fashion explosion.

2005 past exhibitions

Past exhibitions that opened in 2005 – from The Genetic Revolution to Stamped: Celebrating New Zealand’s postal history.

2004 past exhibitions

Past exhibitions that opened in 2004 – from Out on the Street: New Zealand in the 1970s to Toi Te Papa Art of the Nation.

2003 past exhibitions

Past exhibitions that opened in 2003 – from Signs and Wonders | He Tohu He Ohorere to Wild Design.

2003–2007 past touring exhibitions

Past touring exhibitions that opened between 2003 and 2007 – from New Zealand on Ice to The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy: The Exhibition.

1998-2002 past exhibitions

Past exhibitions that opened between 1998 and 2002 – from Tūhoe: Children of the mist to The Time Warp.