iMuseum of Contemporary Art AustraliaThe Rocks
Robyn Kahukiwa: My Ancestors Are Always With Me
A survey of Māori artist Robyn Kahukiwa's paintings addressing Indigenous identity, sovereignty and whakapapa.
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Robyn Kahukiwa was born in Sydney in 1938, on Gadigal Country, and moved to Aotearoa New Zealand in the late 1950s. This is her first major exhibition in Australia, held only a short time after her death in 2025, and it covers more than five decades of her work.
From the early 1970s her paintings took on the ongoing effects of colonisation and dispossession for Māori, with a focus on young people, informed by her work as a schoolteacher. Her subjects are Māori identity, sovereignty and motherhood, and the power and dignity of Māori women. The show is a partnership with Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, and you'll find it filling the galleries on Level 1 South.
Entry is free for MCA Members and under-18s. The MCA's page links to tickets for everyone else but states no price. The museum is closed on Tuesdays and open until 9pm on Thursdays, and an Auslan tour runs on Saturday 7 November, 1.30 to 3pm, booking required.
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A survey of Māori artist Robyn Kahukiwa's paintings on Indigenous identity, sovereignty and whakapapa. Free entry.
Good for
- Evening Visits
- Out-Of-Town Guests
With kids
Entry is free for under-18s.
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Image credits
8
- Robyn Kahukiwa: My Ancestors Are Always With MeCourtesy of Museum of Contemporary Art Australia
- Portia Geach Memorial Award 2026Courtesy of S.H. Ervin Gallery
- Jordan Gower: Does the moon know the well?Photograph: Jacquie Manning
- Museum of Contemporary Art AustraliaTony Hisgett / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
- Justice & Police Museumsv1ambo, CC BY 2.0
- Sydney ObservatoryDicklyon, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Museum of SydneyElekhh, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
- S.H. Ervin GalleryCollywolly / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0