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What’s on at Te Papa

A large artwork filled with clouds of olive green and black paint. Adding to the surreal cloudscape are small, detailed drawings of decapitated birds’ heads, mountains, fantastical creatures and circular hiapo motifs that create small pockets of narrative.

Toi Art

Fresh takes and new favourites. You’ll find them in Toi Art.

Toi Art opened again on Saturday 14 June, with more opening up at the end of June – see what’s coming up!

On now

Sat 14 Jun

Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

An image of an orange-red table with tea and teapots along with three-tierd plates with small cakes.

Eat Your Art Out

A high tea to delight your eyes and taste buds.

From 28 June, daily sessions at 10:30am, 11:00am, 11:30am, 1:30pm, 2:00pm, and 2:30pm.

Event Ngā kaupapa motuhake

Two headshots of two people with long hair looking at the camera.

Writers on Mondays – Sand and Sugarcane: Nafanua Purcell Kersel and Mikaela Nyman

The International Institute of Modern Letters presents a series of events highlighting the very latest work of Aotearoa New Zealand writers. A lively and stimulating way to begin the week.

Two poets discuss climate change, resilience, and political poetry from Pacific and Nordic perspectives in urgent contemporary voices.

Mon 21 Jul 2025, 12.15–1.15pm

Event Ngā kaupapa motuhake

Vanuatu woman with her face painted with tribal motifs looking at the camera wearing a colourful head piece with colourful feathers and sparkly tinsel.

Celebrating Ni-Vanuatu Bislama Language Week

Join us for the official launch of the Vanuatu Bislama Lawis Wik 2025 – a celebration including speeches, singsing (waiata, songs), tok stori (whaikōrero, storytelling), and Tanna naio making, a traditional head piece from Tanna Island in Vanuatu.

Sun 27 Jul 2025, 10.30am–1.00pm

Event Ngā kaupapa motuhake

Explore the website – The digital museum

Eight people are standing in the ocean with the waves at their ankles. They are holding bits of bark cloth.

Watch interviews with the tapa artists and makers

Watch interviews with the artists and makers of tapa talking about how they started tapa making, where they are with the practice now, and sharing what their work means to them.

A teatowel showing two small children holding their pants open and looking down. The main message is "Oh! That explains the difference in our wages"

Protest, antiracism, and activism

Read about protest collecting, decolonisation, and antiracism from our collections and tohunga (experts) and across the web.

Portrait of Chris Parker wearing a felt hat. The hat features tiny versions of the key New Zealand public figures during Covid-19, a bag of flour, a tiny self-portrait of Chris wearing his orange hoodie, and a tiny official Covid-19 symbol

LGBTQI+ histories of Aotearoa New Zealand

Explore queer objects, artworks, and stories in Te Papa’s collections and discover more about the rich histories of Aotearoa New Zealand’s LGBTQI+ communities and icons – including the AIDS Quilt, Carmen Rupe, and Xena: Warrior Princess.

Two men press their noses together for hongi

Learn online with Te Papa

Are you interested in peeking inside Te Papa to take a journey into the wonders, taonga (treasures), and events that make up Aotearoa New Zealand’s history? Find out about our online learning options.

Research at Te Papa

Discover our ongoing, multidisciplinary programme of research, and find out how we can support you in your own investigations.

A stack of books both sitting horizontally and vertically.

Te Papa Press

Discover popular, award-winning books about New Zealand’s art, culture, and natural world.

Several women wearing black and wreaths on their heads made of kawakawa leaves are sitting around a cloak on some boxes in front of them.

Repatriation

In 2003, the government mandated Te Papa to develop a formal programme for the repatriation of Māori and Moriori ancestral remains from international institutions to iwi. Here you can learn about the repatriation process, see all the repatriations to date, and meet the team.

A woman with two kererū perched on her hands

Discover the Collections

View the collections held at Te Papa, learn about outreach that is happening, read our blog, or find out about a specific topic.

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