Whakamaua! | Wear It! Browse adornments from Te Papa collections – art, history, taonga Māori, and Pacific cultures.
He Kapuka Oneone – A Handful of SoilExploring the relationship between tākata and whenua – people and land – through Aotearoa New Zealand’s art history.
This expansive and unmissable exhibition explores the fundamental role whenua plays in the visual language and identity of Aotearoa. Acknowledging Māori as takata whenua, the first peoples to call this land home, themes of kaitiakitaka, colonisation, environmentalism, land use, migration, identity and belonging are considered through collection works, new acquisitions and exciting commissions.
Huikaau | where currents meetHuikaau – where currents meet celebrates the past, present, and future of the Dunedin Public Art Gallery collection – Aotearoa’s first civic collection of art, which was established in Ōtepoti Dunedin in 1884. This exhibition upholds the stories and ideas carried within the collection, welcomes new arrivals, and continues to work in partnership to bring Māori and indigenous perspectives to the fore.
He Aa I Uta, He Aa I Tai: Weaving the ElementsBe immersed in new creations by members of Te Roopu Raranga Whatu o Aotearoa, the national collective of Maaori weavers, supported by the master weavers group, Te Kāhui Whiritoi.
Drawing inspiration from our relationship with air, earth, fire, water and spirit, this large-scale exhibition celebrates the legacy of weaving through traditional and contemporary handcrafted works.
📸 Kahu Piu - Paula-Rigby
Mataaho Collective Hautāmiro (2025) is an installation by Mataaho Collective, which is led by the ancestral narratives of Tokohurunuku, Tokohururangi, Tokohurumawake and Tokohuruatea, the four winds, or the pillars of the sky. The four were children of Huruteaarangi, an atua of the winds who sent her offspring to the edges of the sky to stand as pou that separated Ranginui and Papatūānuku. Inspired by the dynamic visual language of hukahuka whakarākei, the adornments of customary kākahu, Hautāmiro weaves together materials and techniques in an installation that celebrates adaptation, experimentation and mātauranga Māori across generations.
Toi Koru: Sandy AdsettToi Koru presents the first major survey exhibition of paintings by the Māori master of colour and kōwhaiwhai, Dr Sandy Adsett.Featuring paintings created over six decades, Toi Koru tracks the trajectory of Adsett’s painting practice from the late 1960s to today. The exhibition features artworks from major public collections, including the National Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, as well as a new series of paintings created especially for the exhibition.
Developed and toured by Pātaka Art + Museum.
WaioraHemi Macgregor draws on geometric structures, patterns and processes in the natural world to explore our relationship with sky, water, earth and seasons.
Image: Mataura 44 photographed by Cheska Brown
Pōhatu Roa: Stories in StoneShaped by weather and other natural forces over millennia, pōhatu (stone) shows the mark of time on its surface and through its composition. It is the physical memory of our planet and the billions of people who have inhabited it. Each pōhatu silently holds its countless histories within, unable to share what it has experienced.
As a counterpoint to this, Pōhatu Roa: Stories in Stone offers a series of alternative histories told through the skilled hands of artists who have sculpted, carved, drilled and cut this tough and sometimes inflexible material. It features works by Chris Charteris, Craig McIntosh, Neke Moa, Renée Pearson, Fayne Robinson, Joe Sheehan and Tim Steel, who each tell their own stories through this evocative substance.
This exhibition gives a unique insight into diverse narratives that range from the deeply personal to more collective notions. The works in Pōhatu Roa, which loosely translates to the long or enduring stone, cover a surprising range of topics that include the touching story of whānau memories lost to time told through a series of bread plates carved from slate repurposed from a disused pool table; a 3 metre tall ‘necklace’ that acts as a literal and metaphorical anchor point for cultural histories; and the delicately carved objects of the everyday such as usb cords, clothes pegs and tiny birds eggs frozen forever in time.
Tā, TauAn ongoing provocation, Tā, Tau reflects the artist’s contemplation of her contribution to landscape art. She explores this by gathering dirt from places she has lived, as well as whenua connected to her tīpuna. As she walks the land and rests among tussock-covered hills, she considers landlessness, the housing crisis, and contemporary life. She is not concerned with romanticised scenic paintings but rather with the raw, weighty presence of whenua—felt in her hands and reimagined into the structures she creates.
Life in formsPauline Kahurangi Yearbury (b.1928 d.1977 Ngāpuhi) was one of the first Māori artists to introduce Māori cultural narratives into contemporary art. Her work is characterised by a bold and illustrative style. This focused survey includes incised wooden panels featuring figures from Māori whakapapa narratives for which Yearbury is best known, as well as lesser-known drawings and paintings.
Robyn Kahukiwa: Tohunga Mahi ToiThis beautiful and thought-provoking exhibition is a celebration of pioneering artist Robyn Kahukiwa (Ngāti Porou, Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti, Ngāti Konohi, Te Whānau-a-Ruataupare).
Robyn’s artistic contributions over recent decades span the changing cultural and political landscape of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Te Whare Taonga o Waikato Museum and Gallery is proud to host this selection of artworks. They provide not only beauty and strength but inroads to maatauranga, with Maaori accounts given proper currency and weight.
The title 'Tohunga Mahi Toi' refers to Robyn’s status and expertise as an artist, valued here and internationally. Her work has become an alternate visual rendering of Aotearoa’s history, through the lens of a Māori woman.
“Let us acclaim Robyn Kahukiwa. Let us celebrate her art. Let us celebrate the weaving of whakapapa and whānau that she presents us, and entwined with that, always the raising of the wide-reaching capabilities of women. Let us celebrate her gift and her great determination.”
- Roma Potiki (Te Aupōuri, Te Rarawa), exhibition curator.
Robyn Kahukiwa: Tohunga Mahi Toi is developed and toured by The New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pūkenga Whakaata, in partnership with Te Manawa Museum.
Well-Heeled: Shoes with PersonalityEverybody has shoes – but what do they say about the person that wears them. From sneakerheads to haute couture fanatics, people all over the world have had a fascination with collecting these utilitarian-turned highly desirable objects. Well-Heeled invites you to explore the personal stories, special moments and celebrated events told through the diverse tastes of three Aotearoa New Zealand foot-wear devotees.
📸 United Nude, Delta Wedge Boot, Collection of Lisa Reihana
TaongaTaonga are treasures — not for beauty, rarity, or material worth alone, but for the life force they embody. They hold memory, lineage and spirit, weaving connections across time and place. Taonga are gifts carried through generations, imbued with story and soul — owned, yet held in trust; ever unfolding.
In our new Queenstown space, Taonga follows the inaugural exhibition Treasures, deepening the conversation about what we value and why. The works presented are contemporary taonga: living expressions of belonging, reverence, and the profound connection between art, culture, and whenua.
Toi Whakaata / ReflectionsToi Whakaata / Reflections brings together a focused selection of works by esteemed Māori sculptor Fred Graham (Ngāti Korokī Kahukura, Tainui b.1928). Reflecting on Graham’s art practice of over 70 years, this exhibition includes significant works made between 1965 and 2013, with an emphasis on the artist’s small-scale freestanding sculptures and relief works. The exhibited pieces demonstrate the development of Graham’s distinctive visual language, which intersects Māori and European art traditions and combines wood, stone and stainless steel.
📸 Washbowl of Sorrow, 2004,, Courtesy of Waikato Raupatu Lands Trust/Visual Arts, Waikato Museum
Kanohi Gesicht: Julia Walter and Keri-Mei Zagrobelna, 2025Alta Forma is delighted to present the third project in our series of duo exhibitions for 2025. ‘Kanohi Gesicht’ celebrates the artwork and practice of two mid-career international artists, Julia Walter (Netherlands) and Keri-Mei Zagrobelna (Aotearoa). Both artists have significant, internationally recognised jewellery practices, which extend into social and spatial contexts. Julia and Keri-Mei are also vectors for practice, as organisers and educators in their respective communities providing important opportunities for broader audiences to experience contemporary jewellery and its various conditions and contexts. ‘Kanohi Gesicht’ presents new and existing works by the artists that explore the face as site and as iconic archetype.
Artist talk by Keri-Mei Zagrobelna Saturday 7th of June at 3pm. Followed by opening celebration 3.30-5.30pm. All welcome.
Differences in kind and rhythmDifferences in kind and rhythm is the second in a series of dialogue exhibitions made at Te Uru since 2024 for which artists from Aotearoa are paired with international artists. This dialogue pairs the practices of Italian abstract painter Giorgio Griffa (b.1936, Turin) and local sculptor Peter Robinson (Ngāi Tahu, b.1966, Hakatere). This is the first time Griffa’s work will be exhibited in the Southern Hemisphere. Despite being artists of different generations, backgrounds, and contexts, Griffa and Robinson both use repeat forms and processes in their work to address related concepts of repetition and difference, emergence and continuum.
matARiki Sculpture Trail Located at The Strand, Tauranga 3110, New Zealand
Digital art in the real world. The matARiki Sculpture Trail promises a unique and interactive experience for families and art enthusiasts alike.
This groundbreaking exhibition, the first of its kind in Aotearoa, uses augmented reality (AR) technology to breathe life into digital artworks by renowned New Zealand artists. With the theme of Matariki – specifically focusing on the twin stars Waitī (fresh water) and Waitā (salt water) – the trail invites visitors to embark on a journey through augmented reality sculptures. Simply scan QR codes with your smart device and watch as digital artworks come to life before your eyes. Interact with the sculptures, learn about their meaning and the stories behind them, and immerse yourself in the vibrant world of contemporary Māori art
Whiria ngā kanorau Weave the many colours/seeds. 
Tā UaTā Ua: The Rain in Print is a powerful exhibition that brings together a series of original artworks inspired by pūrakau (ancestral stories) and kōrero (narratives) connected to Matariki. This showcase is the culmination of an intensive printmaking workshop series in which participating artists, many of whom are international and unfamiliar with these themes, bravely stepped into new territory. Through the tactile process of lino printing, they engaged deeply with both the medium and the rich cultural landscape of te ao Māori.
He Tukutuku Auahatanga
Karanga atu, Karanga mai - calling outward, calling inward.Vanessa Edwards returns to Tāhuna Queenstown, supported by members of the Toi Whakaata - Māori Print Collective, Alexis Neal, Jasmine Horton and Tessa Russell, to honour her mother and explore the role of pattern within visual culture. Exhibition Opening: Saturday 14 June, 11:00am
To call outward is to expel breath from within - like a karanga during a powhiri or a wailing at a tangi. An outward expression acknowledging or responding to an external catalyst. To call inward is to receive a message into the self - like an internal voice, sometimes a whisper and other times a deafening, chaotic cry.
IwaFor Matariki 2025 we have taken inspiration from the nine stars of Matariki and invited nine ringatoi Māori to contribute ngā mahi toi to celebrate this special time of year. Entitled Iwa this exhibition will celebrate Māori creativity and innovation with the following ringatoi: Thomas Carroll, Mike Crawford, Michelle Hinekura Kerr, Stevei Houkāmau, Jon Jeet, Courtney Marama, Aaron Scythe, Isaac Te Awa, and Arielle Walker.
Kanapa ki Runga - Kanapa ki RaroPuanga is a time for wānanga, connection, remembrance and is a central theme for our exhibition titled Kanapa ki Runga – Kanapa ki Raro. Kanapa ki runga references the celestial realm. The night sky is a connection to both the past and the future. Kanapa ki raro grounds us in the earthly domain and places us in the present. A selection of local and national artists have been called to create works with this poetic phrase as inspiration. This exhibition is a way for each of the 14 featured artists to communicate their own aspirations or to create a work about past events that may have impacted their lives. The convergence of past, present and future yields a resonant beauty for Puanga, a time of inspiration.
PŪKARETAOAn exhibition of Karetao by Charlotte Graham and James Webster.
BirdlandThrough his distinctly recognisable visual language, Chris Heaphy navigates the complexity of representation, connection, identity, time and place. Repetition of motifs and symbols creates a narrative rhythm spurring conversations of interconnection and multiplicity.
Heaphy’s symbolic imagery appears to float on the surface, yet at times it recedes, as if carved into the paint. Like pou in a wharenui, each painting presents a vertical panel with a central point of focus. Similar to the stylised human forms in whakairo, Heaphy’s motifs become holders of whakapapa, an embodiment and preservation of knowledge, lineage, and identity.
Hei TāpiriHEI TĀPIRI is an extension of that noho - supported by our Kaitiaki of Okorore Ngā Toi Māori Hayley Smith supporting our kāhui of collective of local Ringatoi and Artists
A showcase of authentic Māori traditional and contemporary works to be presented this Matariki .
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Holding StoriesNew works from Stevei Houkāmau +Jack Trolove
TĀTAI WHETŪ | CLUSTER OF STARS As we whakanui the reappearance of the constellation of Matariki during Te Tahi o Pipiri we're bringing together mahi from artists Hira Anderson-Mita (Ngāti Maniapoto,Ngāti Apakura, Ngāti Rereahu), Star Gossage (Ngāti Wai, NgātiRuanui), Turumeke Harrington (Kāi Tahu, Rangitāne), Reuben Paterson(Ngati Rangitihi, Ngāi Tūhoe, Tūhourangi), Lisa Reihana (Ngāpuhi-NgātiHine-Ngāi Tū-Te Auru), Ngataiharuru Taepa (Te Arawa, Te Āti Awa), and John Walsh (Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti).
Matariki & Early Paekākāriki History Exhibition & TalksAn exhibition showcasing early Paekākāriki history and general stories of interest through displays, information, talks, film, poetry and, a Matariki themed colouring competition for children. Looking for something to do, and somewhere to go on Matariki weekend? Head along to St Peter’s Hall on the main street in Paekākāriki and check out the great displays and inspiring talks
Te Kupenga | The NetThis exhibition marks the first public presentation of Harrison’s broader research project titled Ngā Pōito i te Kupenga o Toi te Huatahi — The Netfloats in the Net of Toi te Huatahi.
At its centre is the kupenga, or net—a metaphor for the moana as a connective structure, sustaining a people in their ancestral place. The pōito, Ngātiwai’s offshore islands, keep this net afloat. Understood in this way, the ocean is not a void between habitable zones but a lived space of interdependence and accountability. The Net resists the flattening of Māori experience into a single narrative, emphasising the polyvalent nature of the complex histories involved.
Through photography, video, and archival material, it shows how Ngātiwaiknowledge continues to shape their relationships with the natural world, and asks the viewer to imagine an understanding of conservation that acknowledges its roots in both occupation and in traditions of coexistence, sustenance and intergenerational care
naadohbii: to draw waterThe exhibition brings together contemporary Indigenous artwork from Turtle Island (Canada), Aotearoa (New Zealand), and many First Peoples nations of Australia. Featuring over 20 artists, including newly commissioned pieces, Naadohbii: To Draw Water illustrates an axis of solidarity between First Peoples nations across the globe around environmental, political and cultural connections to water.
In that stone, in that cyclone, in that leaf
2025 National Contemporary Art AwardThe National Contemporary Art Award was launched in 2000 by the Waikato Society of Arts and has been facilitated and hosted by Te Whare Taonga o Waikato Museum & Gallery since 2006.
The prestigious competition’s blind-judging process keeps entrant identities confidential, enabling the guest judge to focus solely on the art.
Papatūānuku - Te Whanganui-a-TaraAccording to Māori tradition, Papatūānuku is the Earth Mother, from which all living things are created. In this concert we celebrate nature with Papatūānuku, a work co-created by Kiwi composer Salina Fisher and Grammy Award-winning taonga puoro artist Jerome Kavanagh.
Papatūānuku - Tāmaki MakarauAccording to Māori tradition, Papatūānuku is the Earth Mother, from which all living things are created. In this concert we celebrate nature with Papatūānuku, a work co-created by Kiwi composer Salina Fisher and Grammy Award-winning taonga puoro artist Jerome Kavanagh.
Whāia te TaniwhaThis exhibition celebrates the diversity of taniwha. They are shapeshifters, oceanic guides, leaders, adversaries, guardians and tricksters who have left their marks on the Aotearoa landscape.
Whāia te Taniwha also responds to the impact of colonisation on Māori knowledge systems by celebrating the deep and varied presence of taniwha within te ao Māori,” says Cull.
Whakamaua! | Wear It! Browse adornments from Te Papa collections – art, history, taonga Māori, and Pacific cultures.
He Kapuka Oneone – A Handful of SoilExploring the relationship between tākata and whenua – people and land – through Aotearoa New Zealand’s art history.
This expansive and unmissable exhibition explores the fundamental role whenua plays in the visual language and identity of Aotearoa. Acknowledging Māori as takata whenua, the first peoples to call this land home, themes of kaitiakitaka, colonisation, environmentalism, land use, migration, identity and belonging are considered through collection works, new acquisitions and exciting commissions.
Huikaau | where currents meetHuikaau – where currents meet celebrates the past, present, and future of the Dunedin Public Art Gallery collection – Aotearoa’s first civic collection of art, which was established in Ōtepoti Dunedin in 1884. This exhibition upholds the stories and ideas carried within the collection, welcomes new arrivals, and continues to work in partnership to bring Māori and indigenous perspectives to the fore.
He Aa I Uta, He Aa I Tai: Weaving the ElementsBe immersed in new creations by members of Te Roopu Raranga Whatu o Aotearoa, the national collective of Maaori weavers, supported by the master weavers group, Te Kāhui Whiritoi.
Drawing inspiration from our relationship with air, earth, fire, water and spirit, this large-scale exhibition celebrates the legacy of weaving through traditional and contemporary handcrafted works.
📸 Kahu Piu - Paula-Rigby
Mataaho Collective Hautāmiro (2025) is an installation by Mataaho Collective, which is led by the ancestral narratives of Tokohurunuku, Tokohururangi, Tokohurumawake and Tokohuruatea, the four winds, or the pillars of the sky. The four were children of Huruteaarangi, an atua of the winds who sent her offspring to the edges of the sky to stand as pou that separated Ranginui and Papatūānuku. Inspired by the dynamic visual language of hukahuka whakarākei, the adornments of customary kākahu, Hautāmiro weaves together materials and techniques in an installation that celebrates adaptation, experimentation and mātauranga Māori across generations.
Toi Koru: Sandy AdsettToi Koru presents the first major survey exhibition of paintings by the Māori master of colour and kōwhaiwhai, Dr Sandy Adsett.Featuring paintings created over six decades, Toi Koru tracks the trajectory of Adsett’s painting practice from the late 1960s to today. The exhibition features artworks from major public collections, including the National Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, as well as a new series of paintings created especially for the exhibition.
Developed and toured by Pātaka Art + Museum.
WaioraHemi Macgregor draws on geometric structures, patterns and processes in the natural world to explore our relationship with sky, water, earth and seasons.
Image: Mataura 44 photographed by Cheska Brown
Pōhatu Roa: Stories in StoneShaped by weather and other natural forces over millennia, pōhatu (stone) shows the mark of time on its surface and through its composition. It is the physical memory of our planet and the billions of people who have inhabited it. Each pōhatu silently holds its countless histories within, unable to share what it has experienced.
As a counterpoint to this, Pōhatu Roa: Stories in Stone offers a series of alternative histories told through the skilled hands of artists who have sculpted, carved, drilled and cut this tough and sometimes inflexible material. It features works by Chris Charteris, Craig McIntosh, Neke Moa, Renée Pearson, Fayne Robinson, Joe Sheehan and Tim Steel, who each tell their own stories through this evocative substance.
This exhibition gives a unique insight into diverse narratives that range from the deeply personal to more collective notions. The works in Pōhatu Roa, which loosely translates to the long or enduring stone, cover a surprising range of topics that include the touching story of whānau memories lost to time told through a series of bread plates carved from slate repurposed from a disused pool table; a 3 metre tall ‘necklace’ that acts as a literal and metaphorical anchor point for cultural histories; and the delicately carved objects of the everyday such as usb cords, clothes pegs and tiny birds eggs frozen forever in time.
Tā, TauAn ongoing provocation, Tā, Tau reflects the artist’s contemplation of her contribution to landscape art. She explores this by gathering dirt from places she has lived, as well as whenua connected to her tīpuna. As she walks the land and rests among tussock-covered hills, she considers landlessness, the housing crisis, and contemporary life. She is not concerned with romanticised scenic paintings but rather with the raw, weighty presence of whenua—felt in her hands and reimagined into the structures she creates.
Life in formsPauline Kahurangi Yearbury (b.1928 d.1977 Ngāpuhi) was one of the first Māori artists to introduce Māori cultural narratives into contemporary art. Her work is characterised by a bold and illustrative style. This focused survey includes incised wooden panels featuring figures from Māori whakapapa narratives for which Yearbury is best known, as well as lesser-known drawings and paintings.
Robyn Kahukiwa: Tohunga Mahi ToiThis beautiful and thought-provoking exhibition is a celebration of pioneering artist Robyn Kahukiwa (Ngāti Porou, Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti, Ngāti Konohi, Te Whānau-a-Ruataupare).
Robyn’s artistic contributions over recent decades span the changing cultural and political landscape of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Te Whare Taonga o Waikato Museum and Gallery is proud to host this selection of artworks. They provide not only beauty and strength but inroads to maatauranga, with Maaori accounts given proper currency and weight.
The title 'Tohunga Mahi Toi' refers to Robyn’s status and expertise as an artist, valued here and internationally. Her work has become an alternate visual rendering of Aotearoa’s history, through the lens of a Māori woman.
“Let us acclaim Robyn Kahukiwa. Let us celebrate her art. Let us celebrate the weaving of whakapapa and whānau that she presents us, and entwined with that, always the raising of the wide-reaching capabilities of women. Let us celebrate her gift and her great determination.”
- Roma Potiki (Te Aupōuri, Te Rarawa), exhibition curator.
Robyn Kahukiwa: Tohunga Mahi Toi is developed and toured by The New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pūkenga Whakaata, in partnership with Te Manawa Museum.
Well-Heeled: Shoes with PersonalityEverybody has shoes – but what do they say about the person that wears them. From sneakerheads to haute couture fanatics, people all over the world have had a fascination with collecting these utilitarian-turned highly desirable objects. Well-Heeled invites you to explore the personal stories, special moments and celebrated events told through the diverse tastes of three Aotearoa New Zealand foot-wear devotees.
📸 United Nude, Delta Wedge Boot, Collection of Lisa Reihana
TaongaTaonga are treasures — not for beauty, rarity, or material worth alone, but for the life force they embody. They hold memory, lineage and spirit, weaving connections across time and place. Taonga are gifts carried through generations, imbued with story and soul — owned, yet held in trust; ever unfolding.
In our new Queenstown space, Taonga follows the inaugural exhibition Treasures, deepening the conversation about what we value and why. The works presented are contemporary taonga: living expressions of belonging, reverence, and the profound connection between art, culture, and whenua.
Toi Whakaata / ReflectionsToi Whakaata / Reflections brings together a focused selection of works by esteemed Māori sculptor Fred Graham (Ngāti Korokī Kahukura, Tainui b.1928). Reflecting on Graham’s art practice of over 70 years, this exhibition includes significant works made between 1965 and 2013, with an emphasis on the artist’s small-scale freestanding sculptures and relief works. The exhibited pieces demonstrate the development of Graham’s distinctive visual language, which intersects Māori and European art traditions and combines wood, stone and stainless steel.
📸 Washbowl of Sorrow, 2004,, Courtesy of Waikato Raupatu Lands Trust/Visual Arts, Waikato Museum
Kanohi Gesicht: Julia Walter and Keri-Mei Zagrobelna, 2025Alta Forma is delighted to present the third project in our series of duo exhibitions for 2025. ‘Kanohi Gesicht’ celebrates the artwork and practice of two mid-career international artists, Julia Walter (Netherlands) and Keri-Mei Zagrobelna (Aotearoa). Both artists have significant, internationally recognised jewellery practices, which extend into social and spatial contexts. Julia and Keri-Mei are also vectors for practice, as organisers and educators in their respective communities providing important opportunities for broader audiences to experience contemporary jewellery and its various conditions and contexts. ‘Kanohi Gesicht’ presents new and existing works by the artists that explore the face as site and as iconic archetype.
Artist talk by Keri-Mei Zagrobelna Saturday 7th of June at 3pm. Followed by opening celebration 3.30-5.30pm. All welcome.
Differences in kind and rhythmDifferences in kind and rhythm is the second in a series of dialogue exhibitions made at Te Uru since 2024 for which artists from Aotearoa are paired with international artists. This dialogue pairs the practices of Italian abstract painter Giorgio Griffa (b.1936, Turin) and local sculptor Peter Robinson (Ngāi Tahu, b.1966, Hakatere). This is the first time Griffa’s work will be exhibited in the Southern Hemisphere. Despite being artists of different generations, backgrounds, and contexts, Griffa and Robinson both use repeat forms and processes in their work to address related concepts of repetition and difference, emergence and continuum.
matARiki Sculpture Trail Located at The Strand, Tauranga 3110, New Zealand
Digital art in the real world. The matARiki Sculpture Trail promises a unique and interactive experience for families and art enthusiasts alike.
This groundbreaking exhibition, the first of its kind in Aotearoa, uses augmented reality (AR) technology to breathe life into digital artworks by renowned New Zealand artists. With the theme of Matariki – specifically focusing on the twin stars Waitī (fresh water) and Waitā (salt water) – the trail invites visitors to embark on a journey through augmented reality sculptures. Simply scan QR codes with your smart device and watch as digital artworks come to life before your eyes. Interact with the sculptures, learn about their meaning and the stories behind them, and immerse yourself in the vibrant world of contemporary Māori art
Whiria ngā kanorau Weave the many colours/seeds. Tā UaTā Ua: The Rain in Print is a powerful exhibition that brings together a series of original artworks inspired by pūrakau (ancestral stories) and kōrero (narratives) connected to Matariki. This showcase is the culmination of an intensive printmaking workshop series in which participating artists, many of whom are international and unfamiliar with these themes, bravely stepped into new territory. Through the tactile process of lino printing, they engaged deeply with both the medium and the rich cultural landscape of te ao Māori.
He Tukutuku AuahatangaKaranga atu, Karanga mai - calling outward, calling inward.Vanessa Edwards returns to Tāhuna Queenstown, supported by members of the Toi Whakaata - Māori Print Collective, Alexis Neal, Jasmine Horton and Tessa Russell, to honour her mother and explore the role of pattern within visual culture. Exhibition Opening: Saturday 14 June, 11:00am
To call outward is to expel breath from within - like a karanga during a powhiri or a wailing at a tangi. An outward expression acknowledging or responding to an external catalyst. To call inward is to receive a message into the self - like an internal voice, sometimes a whisper and other times a deafening, chaotic cry.
IwaFor Matariki 2025 we have taken inspiration from the nine stars of Matariki and invited nine ringatoi Māori to contribute ngā mahi toi to celebrate this special time of year. Entitled Iwa this exhibition will celebrate Māori creativity and innovation with the following ringatoi: Thomas Carroll, Mike Crawford, Michelle Hinekura Kerr, Stevei Houkāmau, Jon Jeet, Courtney Marama, Aaron Scythe, Isaac Te Awa, and Arielle Walker.
Kanapa ki Runga - Kanapa ki RaroPuanga is a time for wānanga, connection, remembrance and is a central theme for our exhibition titled Kanapa ki Runga – Kanapa ki Raro. Kanapa ki runga references the celestial realm. The night sky is a connection to both the past and the future. Kanapa ki raro grounds us in the earthly domain and places us in the present. A selection of local and national artists have been called to create works with this poetic phrase as inspiration. This exhibition is a way for each of the 14 featured artists to communicate their own aspirations or to create a work about past events that may have impacted their lives. The convergence of past, present and future yields a resonant beauty for Puanga, a time of inspiration.
PŪKARETAOAn exhibition of Karetao by Charlotte Graham and James Webster.
BirdlandThrough his distinctly recognisable visual language, Chris Heaphy navigates the complexity of representation, connection, identity, time and place. Repetition of motifs and symbols creates a narrative rhythm spurring conversations of interconnection and multiplicity.
Heaphy’s symbolic imagery appears to float on the surface, yet at times it recedes, as if carved into the paint. Like pou in a wharenui, each painting presents a vertical panel with a central point of focus. Similar to the stylised human forms in whakairo, Heaphy’s motifs become holders of whakapapa, an embodiment and preservation of knowledge, lineage, and identity.
Hei TāpiriHEI TĀPIRI is an extension of that noho - supported by our Kaitiaki of Okorore Ngā Toi Māori Hayley Smith supporting our kāhui of collective of local Ringatoi and Artists
A showcase of authentic Māori traditional and contemporary works to be presented this Matariki .
Holding StoriesNew works from Stevei Houkāmau +Jack Trolove
TĀTAI WHETŪ | CLUSTER OF STARS As we whakanui the reappearance of the constellation of Matariki during Te Tahi o Pipiri we're bringing together mahi from artists Hira Anderson-Mita (Ngāti Maniapoto,Ngāti Apakura, Ngāti Rereahu), Star Gossage (Ngāti Wai, NgātiRuanui), Turumeke Harrington (Kāi Tahu, Rangitāne), Reuben Paterson(Ngati Rangitihi, Ngāi Tūhoe, Tūhourangi), Lisa Reihana (Ngāpuhi-NgātiHine-Ngāi Tū-Te Auru), Ngataiharuru Taepa (Te Arawa, Te Āti Awa), and John Walsh (Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti).
Matariki & Early Paekākāriki History Exhibition & TalksAn exhibition showcasing early Paekākāriki history and general stories of interest through displays, information, talks, film, poetry and, a Matariki themed colouring competition for children. Looking for something to do, and somewhere to go on Matariki weekend? Head along to St Peter’s Hall on the main street in Paekākāriki and check out the great displays and inspiring talks
Te Kupenga | The NetThis exhibition marks the first public presentation of Harrison’s broader research project titled Ngā Pōito i te Kupenga o Toi te Huatahi — The Netfloats in the Net of Toi te Huatahi.
At its centre is the kupenga, or net—a metaphor for the moana as a connective structure, sustaining a people in their ancestral place. The pōito, Ngātiwai’s offshore islands, keep this net afloat. Understood in this way, the ocean is not a void between habitable zones but a lived space of interdependence and accountability. The Net resists the flattening of Māori experience into a single narrative, emphasising the polyvalent nature of the complex histories involved.
Through photography, video, and archival material, it shows how Ngātiwaiknowledge continues to shape their relationships with the natural world, and asks the viewer to imagine an understanding of conservation that acknowledges its roots in both occupation and in traditions of coexistence, sustenance and intergenerational care
naadohbii: to draw waterThe exhibition brings together contemporary Indigenous artwork from Turtle Island (Canada), Aotearoa (New Zealand), and many First Peoples nations of Australia. Featuring over 20 artists, including newly commissioned pieces, Naadohbii: To Draw Water illustrates an axis of solidarity between First Peoples nations across the globe around environmental, political and cultural connections to water.
In that stone, in that cyclone, in that leaf2025 National Contemporary Art AwardThe National Contemporary Art Award was launched in 2000 by the Waikato Society of Arts and has been facilitated and hosted by Te Whare Taonga o Waikato Museum & Gallery since 2006.
The prestigious competition’s blind-judging process keeps entrant identities confidential, enabling the guest judge to focus solely on the art.
Papatūānuku - Te Whanganui-a-TaraAccording to Māori tradition, Papatūānuku is the Earth Mother, from which all living things are created. In this concert we celebrate nature with Papatūānuku, a work co-created by Kiwi composer Salina Fisher and Grammy Award-winning taonga puoro artist Jerome Kavanagh.
Papatūānuku - Tāmaki MakarauAccording to Māori tradition, Papatūānuku is the Earth Mother, from which all living things are created. In this concert we celebrate nature with Papatūānuku, a work co-created by Kiwi composer Salina Fisher and Grammy Award-winning taonga puoro artist Jerome Kavanagh.
Whāia te TaniwhaThis exhibition celebrates the diversity of taniwha. They are shapeshifters, oceanic guides, leaders, adversaries, guardians and tricksters who have left their marks on the Aotearoa landscape.
Whāia te Taniwha also responds to the impact of colonisation on Māori knowledge systems by celebrating the deep and varied presence of taniwha within te ao Māori,” says Cull.
Whakamaua! | Wear It! Browse adornments from Te Papa collections – art, history, taonga Māori, and Pacific cultures.
He Kapuka Oneone – A Handful of SoilExploring the relationship between tākata and whenua – people and land – through Aotearoa New Zealand’s art history.
This expansive and unmissable exhibition explores the fundamental role whenua plays in the visual language and identity of Aotearoa. Acknowledging Māori as takata whenua, the first peoples to call this land home, themes of kaitiakitaka, colonisation, environmentalism, land use, migration, identity and belonging are considered through collection works, new acquisitions and exciting commissions.
Huikaau | where currents meetHuikaau – where currents meet celebrates the past, present, and future of the Dunedin Public Art Gallery collection – Aotearoa’s first civic collection of art, which was established in Ōtepoti Dunedin in 1884. This exhibition upholds the stories and ideas carried within the collection, welcomes new arrivals, and continues to work in partnership to bring Māori and indigenous perspectives to the fore.
He Aa I Uta, He Aa I Tai: Weaving the ElementsBe immersed in new creations by members of Te Roopu Raranga Whatu o Aotearoa, the national collective of Maaori weavers, supported by the master weavers group, Te Kāhui Whiritoi.
Drawing inspiration from our relationship with air, earth, fire, water and spirit, this large-scale exhibition celebrates the legacy of weaving through traditional and contemporary handcrafted works.
📸 Kahu Piu - Paula-Rigby
Mataaho Collective Hautāmiro (2025) is an installation by Mataaho Collective, which is led by the ancestral narratives of Tokohurunuku, Tokohururangi, Tokohurumawake and Tokohuruatea, the four winds, or the pillars of the sky. The four were children of Huruteaarangi, an atua of the winds who sent her offspring to the edges of the sky to stand as pou that separated Ranginui and Papatūānuku. Inspired by the dynamic visual language of hukahuka whakarākei, the adornments of customary kākahu, Hautāmiro weaves together materials and techniques in an installation that celebrates adaptation, experimentation and mātauranga Māori across generations.
Toi Koru: Sandy AdsettToi Koru presents the first major survey exhibition of paintings by the Māori master of colour and kōwhaiwhai, Dr Sandy Adsett.Featuring paintings created over six decades, Toi Koru tracks the trajectory of Adsett’s painting practice from the late 1960s to today. The exhibition features artworks from major public collections, including the National Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, as well as a new series of paintings created especially for the exhibition.
Developed and toured by Pātaka Art + Museum.
WaioraHemi Macgregor draws on geometric structures, patterns and processes in the natural world to explore our relationship with sky, water, earth and seasons.
Image: Mataura 44 photographed by Cheska Brown
Pōhatu Roa: Stories in StoneShaped by weather and other natural forces over millennia, pōhatu (stone) shows the mark of time on its surface and through its composition. It is the physical memory of our planet and the billions of people who have inhabited it. Each pōhatu silently holds its countless histories within, unable to share what it has experienced.
As a counterpoint to this, Pōhatu Roa: Stories in Stone offers a series of alternative histories told through the skilled hands of artists who have sculpted, carved, drilled and cut this tough and sometimes inflexible material. It features works by Chris Charteris, Craig McIntosh, Neke Moa, Renée Pearson, Fayne Robinson, Joe Sheehan and Tim Steel, who each tell their own stories through this evocative substance.
This exhibition gives a unique insight into diverse narratives that range from the deeply personal to more collective notions. The works in Pōhatu Roa, which loosely translates to the long or enduring stone, cover a surprising range of topics that include the touching story of whānau memories lost to time told through a series of bread plates carved from slate repurposed from a disused pool table; a 3 metre tall ‘necklace’ that acts as a literal and metaphorical anchor point for cultural histories; and the delicately carved objects of the everyday such as usb cords, clothes pegs and tiny birds eggs frozen forever in time.
Tā, TauAn ongoing provocation, Tā, Tau reflects the artist’s contemplation of her contribution to landscape art. She explores this by gathering dirt from places she has lived, as well as whenua connected to her tīpuna. As she walks the land and rests among tussock-covered hills, she considers landlessness, the housing crisis, and contemporary life. She is not concerned with romanticised scenic paintings but rather with the raw, weighty presence of whenua—felt in her hands and reimagined into the structures she creates.
Life in formsPauline Kahurangi Yearbury (b.1928 d.1977 Ngāpuhi) was one of the first Māori artists to introduce Māori cultural narratives into contemporary art. Her work is characterised by a bold and illustrative style. This focused survey includes incised wooden panels featuring figures from Māori whakapapa narratives for which Yearbury is best known, as well as lesser-known drawings and paintings.
Robyn Kahukiwa: Tohunga Mahi ToiThis beautiful and thought-provoking exhibition is a celebration of pioneering artist Robyn Kahukiwa (Ngāti Porou, Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti, Ngāti Konohi, Te Whānau-a-Ruataupare).
Robyn’s artistic contributions over recent decades span the changing cultural and political landscape of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Te Whare Taonga o Waikato Museum and Gallery is proud to host this selection of artworks. They provide not only beauty and strength but inroads to maatauranga, with Maaori accounts given proper currency and weight.
The title 'Tohunga Mahi Toi' refers to Robyn’s status and expertise as an artist, valued here and internationally. Her work has become an alternate visual rendering of Aotearoa’s history, through the lens of a Māori woman.
“Let us acclaim Robyn Kahukiwa. Let us celebrate her art. Let us celebrate the weaving of whakapapa and whānau that she presents us, and entwined with that, always the raising of the wide-reaching capabilities of women. Let us celebrate her gift and her great determination.”
- Roma Potiki (Te Aupōuri, Te Rarawa), exhibition curator.
Robyn Kahukiwa: Tohunga Mahi Toi is developed and toured by The New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pūkenga Whakaata, in partnership with Te Manawa Museum.
Well-Heeled: Shoes with PersonalityEverybody has shoes – but what do they say about the person that wears them. From sneakerheads to haute couture fanatics, people all over the world have had a fascination with collecting these utilitarian-turned highly desirable objects. Well-Heeled invites you to explore the personal stories, special moments and celebrated events told through the diverse tastes of three Aotearoa New Zealand foot-wear devotees.
📸 United Nude, Delta Wedge Boot, Collection of Lisa Reihana
TaongaTaonga are treasures — not for beauty, rarity, or material worth alone, but for the life force they embody. They hold memory, lineage and spirit, weaving connections across time and place. Taonga are gifts carried through generations, imbued with story and soul — owned, yet held in trust; ever unfolding.
In our new Queenstown space, Taonga follows the inaugural exhibition Treasures, deepening the conversation about what we value and why. The works presented are contemporary taonga: living expressions of belonging, reverence, and the profound connection between art, culture, and whenua.
Toi Whakaata / ReflectionsToi Whakaata / Reflections brings together a focused selection of works by esteemed Māori sculptor Fred Graham (Ngāti Korokī Kahukura, Tainui b.1928). Reflecting on Graham’s art practice of over 70 years, this exhibition includes significant works made between 1965 and 2013, with an emphasis on the artist’s small-scale freestanding sculptures and relief works. The exhibited pieces demonstrate the development of Graham’s distinctive visual language, which intersects Māori and European art traditions and combines wood, stone and stainless steel.
📸 Washbowl of Sorrow, 2004,, Courtesy of Waikato Raupatu Lands Trust/Visual Arts, Waikato Museum
Kanohi Gesicht: Julia Walter and Keri-Mei Zagrobelna, 2025Alta Forma is delighted to present the third project in our series of duo exhibitions for 2025. ‘Kanohi Gesicht’ celebrates the artwork and practice of two mid-career international artists, Julia Walter (Netherlands) and Keri-Mei Zagrobelna (Aotearoa). Both artists have significant, internationally recognised jewellery practices, which extend into social and spatial contexts. Julia and Keri-Mei are also vectors for practice, as organisers and educators in their respective communities providing important opportunities for broader audiences to experience contemporary jewellery and its various conditions and contexts. ‘Kanohi Gesicht’ presents new and existing works by the artists that explore the face as site and as iconic archetype.
Artist talk by Keri-Mei Zagrobelna Saturday 7th of June at 3pm. Followed by opening celebration 3.30-5.30pm. All welcome.
Differences in kind and rhythmDifferences in kind and rhythm is the second in a series of dialogue exhibitions made at Te Uru since 2024 for which artists from Aotearoa are paired with international artists. This dialogue pairs the practices of Italian abstract painter Giorgio Griffa (b.1936, Turin) and local sculptor Peter Robinson (Ngāi Tahu, b.1966, Hakatere). This is the first time Griffa’s work will be exhibited in the Southern Hemisphere. Despite being artists of different generations, backgrounds, and contexts, Griffa and Robinson both use repeat forms and processes in their work to address related concepts of repetition and difference, emergence and continuum.
matARiki Sculpture Trail Located at The Strand, Tauranga 3110, New Zealand
Digital art in the real world. The matARiki Sculpture Trail promises a unique and interactive experience for families and art enthusiasts alike.
This groundbreaking exhibition, the first of its kind in Aotearoa, uses augmented reality (AR) technology to breathe life into digital artworks by renowned New Zealand artists. With the theme of Matariki – specifically focusing on the twin stars Waitī (fresh water) and Waitā (salt water) – the trail invites visitors to embark on a journey through augmented reality sculptures. Simply scan QR codes with your smart device and watch as digital artworks come to life before your eyes. Interact with the sculptures, learn about their meaning and the stories behind them, and immerse yourself in the vibrant world of contemporary Māori art
Whiria ngā kanorau Weave the many colours/seeds. Tā UaTā Ua: The Rain in Print is a powerful exhibition that brings together a series of original artworks inspired by pūrakau (ancestral stories) and kōrero (narratives) connected to Matariki. This showcase is the culmination of an intensive printmaking workshop series in which participating artists, many of whom are international and unfamiliar with these themes, bravely stepped into new territory. Through the tactile process of lino printing, they engaged deeply with both the medium and the rich cultural landscape of te ao Māori.
He Tukutuku AuahatangaKaranga atu, Karanga mai - calling outward, calling inward.Vanessa Edwards returns to Tāhuna Queenstown, supported by members of the Toi Whakaata - Māori Print Collective, Alexis Neal, Jasmine Horton and Tessa Russell, to honour her mother and explore the role of pattern within visual culture. Exhibition Opening: Saturday 14 June, 11:00am
To call outward is to expel breath from within - like a karanga during a powhiri or a wailing at a tangi. An outward expression acknowledging or responding to an external catalyst. To call inward is to receive a message into the self - like an internal voice, sometimes a whisper and other times a deafening, chaotic cry.
IwaFor Matariki 2025 we have taken inspiration from the nine stars of Matariki and invited nine ringatoi Māori to contribute ngā mahi toi to celebrate this special time of year. Entitled Iwa this exhibition will celebrate Māori creativity and innovation with the following ringatoi: Thomas Carroll, Mike Crawford, Michelle Hinekura Kerr, Stevei Houkāmau, Jon Jeet, Courtney Marama, Aaron Scythe, Isaac Te Awa, and Arielle Walker.
Kanapa ki Runga - Kanapa ki RaroPuanga is a time for wānanga, connection, remembrance and is a central theme for our exhibition titled Kanapa ki Runga – Kanapa ki Raro. Kanapa ki runga references the celestial realm. The night sky is a connection to both the past and the future. Kanapa ki raro grounds us in the earthly domain and places us in the present. A selection of local and national artists have been called to create works with this poetic phrase as inspiration. This exhibition is a way for each of the 14 featured artists to communicate their own aspirations or to create a work about past events that may have impacted their lives. The convergence of past, present and future yields a resonant beauty for Puanga, a time of inspiration.
PŪKARETAOAn exhibition of Karetao by Charlotte Graham and James Webster.
BirdlandThrough his distinctly recognisable visual language, Chris Heaphy navigates the complexity of representation, connection, identity, time and place. Repetition of motifs and symbols creates a narrative rhythm spurring conversations of interconnection and multiplicity.
Heaphy’s symbolic imagery appears to float on the surface, yet at times it recedes, as if carved into the paint. Like pou in a wharenui, each painting presents a vertical panel with a central point of focus. Similar to the stylised human forms in whakairo, Heaphy’s motifs become holders of whakapapa, an embodiment and preservation of knowledge, lineage, and identity.
Hei TāpiriHEI TĀPIRI is an extension of that noho - supported by our Kaitiaki of Okorore Ngā Toi Māori Hayley Smith supporting our kāhui of collective of local Ringatoi and Artists
A showcase of authentic Māori traditional and contemporary works to be presented this Matariki .
Holding StoriesNew works from Stevei Houkāmau +Jack Trolove
TĀTAI WHETŪ | CLUSTER OF STARS As we whakanui the reappearance of the constellation of Matariki during Te Tahi o Pipiri we're bringing together mahi from artists Hira Anderson-Mita (Ngāti Maniapoto,Ngāti Apakura, Ngāti Rereahu), Star Gossage (Ngāti Wai, NgātiRuanui), Turumeke Harrington (Kāi Tahu, Rangitāne), Reuben Paterson(Ngati Rangitihi, Ngāi Tūhoe, Tūhourangi), Lisa Reihana (Ngāpuhi-NgātiHine-Ngāi Tū-Te Auru), Ngataiharuru Taepa (Te Arawa, Te Āti Awa), and John Walsh (Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti).
Matariki & Early Paekākāriki History Exhibition & TalksAn exhibition showcasing early Paekākāriki history and general stories of interest through displays, information, talks, film, poetry and, a Matariki themed colouring competition for children. Looking for something to do, and somewhere to go on Matariki weekend? Head along to St Peter’s Hall on the main street in Paekākāriki and check out the great displays and inspiring talks
Te Kupenga | The NetThis exhibition marks the first public presentation of Harrison’s broader research project titled Ngā Pōito i te Kupenga o Toi te Huatahi — The Netfloats in the Net of Toi te Huatahi.
At its centre is the kupenga, or net—a metaphor for the moana as a connective structure, sustaining a people in their ancestral place. The pōito, Ngātiwai’s offshore islands, keep this net afloat. Understood in this way, the ocean is not a void between habitable zones but a lived space of interdependence and accountability. The Net resists the flattening of Māori experience into a single narrative, emphasising the polyvalent nature of the complex histories involved.
Through photography, video, and archival material, it shows how Ngātiwaiknowledge continues to shape their relationships with the natural world, and asks the viewer to imagine an understanding of conservation that acknowledges its roots in both occupation and in traditions of coexistence, sustenance and intergenerational care
naadohbii: to draw waterThe exhibition brings together contemporary Indigenous artwork from Turtle Island (Canada), Aotearoa (New Zealand), and many First Peoples nations of Australia. Featuring over 20 artists, including newly commissioned pieces, Naadohbii: To Draw Water illustrates an axis of solidarity between First Peoples nations across the globe around environmental, political and cultural connections to water.
In that stone, in that cyclone, in that leaf2025 National Contemporary Art AwardThe National Contemporary Art Award was launched in 2000 by the Waikato Society of Arts and has been facilitated and hosted by Te Whare Taonga o Waikato Museum & Gallery since 2006.
The prestigious competition’s blind-judging process keeps entrant identities confidential, enabling the guest judge to focus solely on the art.
Papatūānuku - Te Whanganui-a-TaraAccording to Māori tradition, Papatūānuku is the Earth Mother, from which all living things are created. In this concert we celebrate nature with Papatūānuku, a work co-created by Kiwi composer Salina Fisher and Grammy Award-winning taonga puoro artist Jerome Kavanagh.
Papatūānuku - Tāmaki MakarauAccording to Māori tradition, Papatūānuku is the Earth Mother, from which all living things are created. In this concert we celebrate nature with Papatūānuku, a work co-created by Kiwi composer Salina Fisher and Grammy Award-winning taonga puoro artist Jerome Kavanagh.
Whāia te TaniwhaThis exhibition celebrates the diversity of taniwha. They are shapeshifters, oceanic guides, leaders, adversaries, guardians and tricksters who have left their marks on the Aotearoa landscape.
Whāia te Taniwha also responds to the impact of colonisation on Māori knowledge systems by celebrating the deep and varied presence of taniwha within te ao Māori,” says Cull.
Join Toi Iho, empowering creative Māori expression and fostering cultural resurgence.
TOI IHO and the TOI IHO logo are taonga and trade marks of Toi Iho Charitable Trust. Toi Iho Charitable Trust is the kaitiaki of the taonga and owner of the trade marks. All use of these taonga and trade marks must be consistent with rules, policies, and tikanga set by Toi Iho Charitable Trust.
