Overview
Kei te Kairauhī: 21 ngā Taonga | Curators’ Choice: 21 Things is a mini exhibition exploring how and why Te Papa curators collect. Featuring 21 recent additions to Te Papa's collections, this exhibition runs from 13 December 2019 until September 2020.
The exhibition sheds light on the innovative ways in which Te Papa builds its collections for generations to come. The items on display have been acquired over the past two years and range from digital material to handcrafted objects, spanning the early 1880s to the present day. Each acquisition has been collected by Te Papa curators through various different platforms including auction houses and co-collecting projects.
Highlights include stunning drone footage of the Tokelau atolls by Andrew Matautia, and a gang jacket from the seminal film Once Were Warriors.
The selection provides interesting insights into a core part of Te Papa's work - how staff source precious items for the national collection as a way of preserving New Zealand’s culture, past and present.