Story: Museums

Te Māori exhibition, 1984

Watch Māori entering the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in November 1984 at the opening of the Te Māori of Māori art. The exhibition was well received in New York and also in St Louis, Chicago and San Francisco, where it was also shown. International recognition and the huge response of New Zealanders, both Māori and Pākehā, to the exhibition when it returned home in 1986 heightened appreciation of Māori taonga (treasures). This led to significant changes in the relationships of museums with iwi. There was stronger Māori representation and staffing in museums, greater consultation with iwi in the display of their taonga, and greater use of te reo Māori and Māori tikanga (customs) in museum displays and openings.

Using this item

TVNZ Television New Zealand

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page:

Conal McCarthy, 'Museums - Museums expand and diversify, 1945 to 1990', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/video/43883/te-maori-exhibition-1984 (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Conal McCarthy, published 22 Oct 2014