Pacific tapa in our collections
Explore tapa styles, stories, and tapa-related objects from peoples across the Pacific.
Publication: Tapa (working title)
Research and publication of a book on the art of Pacific tapa cloth in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Te Papa Researchers: Sean Mallon, Nina Tonga, Rachel Yates
External researchers: (tbc)
Project description: The book will feature examples of tapa from Te Papa’s Pacific Cultures collections and critical essays analysing the processes and cultural politics of contemporary tapa making in the late 20th and early 21st centuries..
From a Tongan tapa-making collective in Auckland, to a collaboration between a New Zealand artist and masi maker in Fiji, and the efforts of revivalists, this book is a collaborative project bringing new histories, stories, and stunning tapa works to audiences beyond the walls of the museum.
Primary outputs: book, collection development, and an exhibition.
Kapa (tapa cloth), made by Maile Andrade, barck cloth, Hawaii, 2009. Te Papa (FE012441)
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About our Pacific Cultures research
We seek to understand the local and global histories of Pacific peoples, and to document these stories through our collection.
Pacific Cultures team
Find out about the people that make up our Pacific Cultures team and their roles at Te Papa.