Whakatōhea woven work from Uhengaparaoa, Taonga Tuku Iho

Uhengaparaoa, Taonga Tuku Iho: Ancestral Gifts and Contemporary Māori Art

Now showing11 October 2026 – 16 May 2027·Free

Contemporary Whakatōhea weavers respond to an ancestral kaitaka (cloak) from the Fowler's collection, bringing ancient and modern Māori art into dialogue.

Exhibition website

The cloak at the centre of this show is not treated as a specimen. The Whakatōhea, an iwi (tribe) from Aotearoa New Zealand, regard this kaitaka from the Fowler's collection as an ancestor, so you are standing in front of a relative. The show is named for Uhengaparaoa, a Whakatōhea weaver from before the 18th century who travelled to the East Coast to share her weaving.

Contemporary Whakatōhea artists made new work in answer to the cloak. Some stays close to the old forms, in finely woven kete (baskets) and kākahu (cloaks). Some moves away from them, with recycled materials, feathers and new shapes. Co-curator Gina Tawhai Matchitt, a curator at Waikato Museum in Hamilton, works the same way in her own art, pairing customary Māori techniques with contemporary materials.

Come for the weaving and the one old cloak everything else answers. Admission is free, the museum opens Wednesday to Sunday, and the show runs until 16 May 2027.

Look for

The ancestral kaitaka
Look for the cloak from the Fowler's own collection that the Whakatōhea count as an ancestor; every new work in the show was made in response to it.
Kete and kākahu by today's Whakatōhea weavers
Finely woven baskets and cloaks that carry the old techniques forward, made by living weavers from the same iwi as the kaitaka.
Recycled materials and feathers
Contemporary pieces that take the weaving tradition into recycled materials, feathers and new forms.