The Impact of the Te Maori Exhibition on Conservation Practice in New Zealand Museums: 40 Years On

Te Maori: Maori Art from New Zealand opened at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York on 10 September 1984. The exhibition toured three other American and four New Zealand museums before closing in September 1987. Te Maori has been described as an instigator of a Māori cultural renaissance and an exhibition that changed museums in Aotearoa New Zealand. The acceptance of Māori participation in decision-making and acknowledgment of Māori cultural protocol as part of the care of artefacts was revolutionary at the time. Conservators had to accept cultural practices when caring for Māori material culture which they had never previously considered. Some of these practices conflicted with established conservation ethics. As an outcome of Te Maori, Māori students were selected to study conservation. These conservators blended their academic training and cultural background to create parallel practices and ethics. This furthered the conservation profession in Aotearoa New Zealand and led to more Māori professionals establishing careers in museums. In the 40 years since Te Maori, Aotearoa New Zealand and museums have changed markedly. This paper reflects on the importance of Te Maori arguing it was a formative exhibition that influenced and developed the conservation profession in Aotearoa New Zealand.