
Tatau: Sāmoan tattoo
Explore the history of Sāmoan tatau, watch interviews with people talking about what their tatau means to them, and discover objects and photographs within our collections.
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
Find out about the people that make up our Pacific Cultures team and their roles at Te Papa.
Senior Curator Pacific Histories and Cultures
Sean Mallon stands in front of wall of Pacific collection items
Sean Mallon specialises in the social and cultural history of Pacific peoples in New Zealand. He is the author of Tatau: A History of Sāmoan Tattooing (2017) with Sébastien Galliot, and is currently researching issues relating to the agency and activism of Pacific peoples in museums.
Sean’s publications on Google Scholar
Curator Pacific Cultures
Emelihter is passionate about textiles and contemporary fashion from Pohnpei Island in the Federated States of Micronesia and larger Oceania. Her first love is poetry and she is drawn to interdisciplinary, mixed-genre exhibitions that blur the lines of ‘art.’
Explore the history of Sāmoan tatau, watch interviews with people talking about what their tatau means to them, and discover objects and photographs within our collections.
Access our research journal, Tuhinga, and other curatorial papers and books published by Te Papa.
Dig deeper into Te Papa's research topics on Collections Online