Myth and Magic

Article

Right of return: New Zealand

In May 2022, Crispin Howarth, National Gallery Curator for Pacific Arts, travelled with the Tupuna to safely return it to Aotearoa/New Zealand.

Feature

Tā Moko: powerful Māori cultural expression

Crispin Howarth, Curator of Pacific Arts, explores the practice of tā moko— an admired and powerful form of Māori cultural expression.

Article

The incredible adventures of Double Figure
What kind of art inspires a surrealist?

Collected in 1929 from west New Guinea by Parisian poet and filmmaker Jacques Viot, Double figure captivated a generation of surrealist artists.

Exhibition

SaVĀge K'lub
Te Paepae Aora’i – Where the Gods Cannot be Fooled

29 Jun – 10 Mar 2025

The SaVĀge K’lub is a multi-disciplinary vehicle built to explore ideas of hospitality and sovereignty celebrating all forms of art and culture.

Feature

A helmet’s voyage

Crispin Howarth researches the history of a rare 18th-century Hawaiian helmet in the national collection.

Collection Display

Bilong Papua New Guinea
Reflecting on 50 years of Independence

Upcoming

Sep 2025 – Jun 2026

This exhibition celebrates Papua New Guinea’s rich cultural tapestry while examining the impacts of colonisation.

Feature

A surrealist, a forger and the return of ancestral remains
Pacific Arts

In 2019, a work in the National Gallery collection was identified as both inauthentic, a forgery, and sadly created from Māori ancestral remains.

Exhibition

Vivienne Westwood
34 Years in Fashion

Past Exhibition

12 Nov 2004 – 30 Jan 2005

This exhibition presented a visual exploration of the culture of fashion from the 1970s onwards through Westwood's vision.

Feature

Collecting the artistic voices of Indonesia

Senior Curator of Asian and Pacific Art, Carol Cains uncovers the origins of the National Gallery’s extensive Indonesian art collection.