Art & creativity, History & heritage  |  3h ago

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A new exhibition at Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū celebrates the enduring significance of Pacific art and craft practices and their strong connection with contemporary artists and artmaking.

Made in the Pacific: A Collection of Tāoga pairs 50 extraordinary tāoga (treasured objects) from Canterbury Museum’s extensive Pacific collections with contemporary artworks to highlight the continued strength and evolution of Pacific art forms.  

It includes a particular focus on tools and processes relating to tapa, also known as barkcloth. Tapa takes different forms around Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa, the Pacific, where it is known as aute (Aotearoa), siapo (Sāmoa), hiapo (Niue), kapa (Hawaii), 'uha/masi (Fiji), ngatu (Tonga) and 'ahu (Norfolk and Pitcairn Islands).

Serene Hodgman, Va'ai :au Fuala'au/See My Pretty Flower 2022. Silk ribbons on segments of woven plastic mat. Courtesy of the artist and Masterworks Gallery.

The Gallery invited multidisciplinary artist, curator and hiapo maker Cora-Allan to curate the exhibition, which celebrates the skills and knowledge embedded in customary practices and the contemporary artists who continue to draw inspiration from them today. 

Cora-Allan worked closely with Hatesa Seumanutafa, Canterbury Museum’s Curator Māori, Pacific, and Indigenous Human Histories to select the taoga. The Museum’s Pacific collections number around 300,000 objects, ranging from textiles and personal adornments to tools and lithics (stone artefacts). Some of oldest tāoga in the exhibition are upeti fala, traditional rubbing boards made using the midrib of coconut leaves, which arrived at the Museum in 1897.

“The connection Made in the Pacific makes between the historic tāoga and the makers of today is very important,” says Cora-Allan. 

“The six contemporary artists I have included are all interested in matauranga from the Pacific – traditional ideas, materials and forms. This exhibition celebrates that bridging of past and present, and looks at how we might move forward to the future.”

The customary tāoga on display represent skilled artmaking traditions from Samoa, Niue, Hawai’i, Fiji, Rapa Nui, Papua New Guinea, Tahiti and elsewhere across the Pacific.  

Visitors will encounter tapa in a range of different forms – as large-scale pieces, small samples and in the form of tīputa (a poncho-like garment). Several items have been included because they demonstrate the use of natural dyes such as indigo, turmeric and smoke. Shown alongside the tapa are a range of tools used to work the barkcloth, such as ike (beaters) and lapa (liners). Many bear the marks and wear of frequent use. 

Join an artist led workshop at the Gallery this Sunday

11am, Sunday 29 March 2026 

Choose from three simultaneous workshops led by artists Doron Riki-Semu, Sue Pearson and Serene Hodgman, who blend traditional methods with contemporary art.

Try Ribbon Weaving / Embriodery, Textile Printing and Siapo (Tapa) barkcloth making.

Bookings essential. Children are free with a booked adult.

Tickets are $25. Book your place now.

“It was important to me that the exhibition was about more than just an aesthetic appreciation of tapa.  

“I wanted to connect it with the community and the makers working today, making the histories that are embedded in tapa practices visible,” says Cora-Allan.  

Six contemporary artists – Serene Hodgman, Sue Pearson, Doron Riki-Semu, Pauline Reynolds, Louisa Afoa and Jimmy Ma’ia’i – present works that respond to this legacy through textiles, photography, contemporary tīputa, projection and more. 

Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū Lead Curator Felicity Milburn says it is an honour for the Gallery to present the exhibition. 

“It’s a privilege to display these tāoga, many of which have never before been exhibited in this way.”  

“We’re very grateful to Canterbury Museum for their significant and generous support in making them available. We are fortunate to have been able to work with Cora-Allan, who is renowned for her advocacy for Pacific artmaking, past and present. 

“The conversation she has generated between these tāoga and the contemporary artworks is exciting and powerful, and we thank her for the vision, knowledge and hard work that have brought this exhibition to life.  

“In initiating and presenting the exhibition we acknowledge our strong Pacific communities here in Ōtautahi – many will recognise artforms on display that are deeply familiar to them, shared in a new context for everyone to appreciate” says Milburn.  

Made in the Pacific: A Collection of Tāoga opens on 28 March and closes on 11 October. A free opening day talk by Curator Cora-Allan and Canterbury Museum’s Curator Māori, Pacific, and Indigenous Human Histories, Hatesa Seumanutafa will take place in the Made in the Pacific – A Collection of Tāoga gallery space on Saturday 28 March at 11am. This exhibition is supported by Canterbury Museum. 

Photo at top: Hiapo (Niue). Collection of Canterbury Museum.