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Te Māori: Māori Art from New Zealand Collections was a watershed
exhibition of taonga or Māori Art treasures, borrowed from twelve leading New
Zealand museums. The exhibition of 174 taonga opened at the Metropolitan Museum
of Art in New York in September 1984. From there Te Māori travelled to
the Saint Louis Art Museum, the de Young Memorial Museum in San Francisco and
closed in 1986 at the Field Museum in Chicago.
At dawn on the 10th September 1984 Te Māori
opened at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York with full Maori ritual
through a 'dawn ceremony' which quickly became a hallmark at each venue. In New
York over 202,000 people visited the exhibition. Many more were exposed to Te
Māori through cable and national television coverage and the exhibition made
the front page of the New York Times. The success of Te Maori was in
large part due to the foresight of Maori elders who believed it was a timely
exhibition and agreed that beloved taonga be allowed to leave the country.
After closing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in January 1985,
Te Māori travelled to the Saint Louis Art Museum (February - May 1985), the
de Young Memorial Museum in San Francisco (July -September 1985) to the Field
Museum in Chicago (March - June 1986). A major catalogue accompanied the
exhibition and several documentaries captured the significance of the exhibition
for future generations.
The exhibition met with such success that a New Zealand tour entitled Te
Māori: Te Hokinga Mai travelled the country from 1986 starting at the
National Museum, Wellington (August - October 1986), Otago Museum, Dunedin
(November 1986 - February 1987) and the Robert McDougall Art Gallery,
Christchurch (March - May 1987) and finally to the Auckland Art Gallery (June -
September 1987).
Te Maori was an insightful exhibition that bridged understanding between
Maori and Pakeha enabling each to more appreciate, Maori art and culture. Many
elders have since passed away including famous icons from our history such as
the Maori Queen, Dame Te Atairangi Kahu, Rt Hon David Lange, Sir Hugh Kawharu,
Dame Whina Cooper, Sir James Henare, Sir Hepi Te Heu Heu, Dr Henare Tuwhangai,
and Sir Monita Delamere. They led by example by standing behind the exhibition's
three-year tour, providing tribal and community stories and participating in
formal and Maori ceremony.
As an historical moment, the exhibition raised the mana of Maori art,
revitalised Maori culture and drew the people of New Zealand closer together.
Curators Professor Hirini Moko Mead, Douglas Newton of the Metropolitan Museum
of Art and David Simmons, former Auckland Museum curator, presented to the world
an exhibition, that was a profoundly moving experience for international
audiences as much as it was for all New Zealanders.
A unique feature of the exhibition was kaiarahi or Maori gallery guides.
Elders selected interpreters who were then trained by June Te Rina and Hirini
Moko Mead. Interpreters increased the mana of taonga and by extension their
ancestors, by providing a unique world-view. The mana of the exhibition and the
emotional relationship to the taonga was reflected in the wholehearted
commitment given by the elders, guides, educators, Maori Wardens and gallery
staff. |
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