Toi Art

Tētēkura
Ralph Hotere, Shona Rapira-Davies

Threshold Gallery, Level 4

Two monumental artworks – one made from burnt timber, the other from fired clay. An unmissable opportunity to encounter two icons of contemporary Māori art: Black phoenix by Ralph Hotere (Te Aupōuri) and Nga morehu by Shona Rapira-Davies (Ngāti Wai).

Anne Noble
Oranga Huna
Hidden Lives

The Euan and Ann Sinclair Gallery, Level 5

In her 1990s series ‘Hidden Lives: The Work of Care’, photographer Anne Noble documented the lives of five adults with intellectual disabilities and their carers. This selection of photographs features Audrey Thetford and her mother, Gladys, as they go about their daily life in Wellington’s Miramar.

Lily Laita, After Fa‘alupega (Headless State), 2001. Purchased 2022. Te Papa (2002-0032-1)

Leslie Adkin
He Kaipāmu Kaiwhakaahua
Farmer Photographer

Toi Art, Level 4

Leslie Adkin’s photographs capture rare glimpses of everyday life from the 1900s to the 1930s. This expansive selection of photographs ranges from affectionate portraits of Adkin’s beloved wife, Maud, to life on the family farm near Levin. Experience the unique eye of one of New Zealand’s finest early photographers.

Discover the book Leslie Adkin: Farmer Photographer

Tū Atu, Tū Mai
Prompts
Lubaina Himid, Michael Parekōwhai

Toi Art, Level 4

The works in this exhibition experiment with language, its expression, and its effects. In their decades-long practices, Lubaina Himid and Michael Parekōwhai have scrutinised their respective socio-political contexts to explore the possibilities of identification and misrecognition. In their wide-ranging work, both artists have grappled with identity and how the languages of contemporary art, both visual and textual, can play an essential role in enlarging societal conversation on participation and representation.

This exhibition is presented by Artspace Aotearoa in association with Te Papa and with the support of the British Council New Zealand and the Pacific.

Ki te Toi Hou: Ngā Hoahoa Matapaia e Ono
Towards Modernism: Seven Domestic Designs

Toi Art, Level 5

From the 1960s, Walter Cook built up a unique collection of decorative art – much of it found in Wellington’s antique and second-hand shops. These British and European objects from the Walter Cook Collection illustrate evolving ideas of modernity, from the 1870s to the 1960s.

Discover the book Towards Modernism: The Walter Cook Collection at Te Papa 

Mahi Rārangi
Line Work

Toi Art, Level 5

This exhibition brings together works that play with lines. Artists of three generations – Pip Culbert, Susan Te Kahurangi King, and Yona Lee – explore the practice of drawing, on the page and in physical space.

Everyday figures, objects, and materials appear in new shapes, suddenly unfamiliar.

Maureen Lander
Aho Huna, Aho Whai
Threads of Connection

Toi Art, Level 5

From dazzling UV-light installations to delicate work in harakeke, experience the art of Maureen Lander (Ngāpuhi, Te Hikutu, Pākehā). Lander is one of New Zealand’s foremost experts on raranga and a master weaver herself.

This exhibition presents String games, created for Te Papa’s opening in 1998, alongside other major works celebrating and exploring Māori art forms.

Kōrero Pūrākau
Telling Stories

Toi Art, Level 5

Paintings, tīvaevae, jewellery, video games, embroidery – this gallery explores ways in which artists tell stories. Some of the artworks connect with whakapapa, oral traditions, or family stories. Others seem to capture a moment, leaving a bigger picture to the imagination.

Papa Toi
Art Studio

Toi Art, Level 5

Get creative in our hands-on, whānau-friendly activity space. There’s art-making for all ages, from shadow play to a story wheel that will get your imagination spinning. You’ll also find dedicated activities for Te Papa’s youngest art explorers.

He kupu whakataki ki Toi Art
NZSL intro to Toi Art