March highlights @Te Papa
The Dinosaurs from China exhibition continues to be phenomenally popular. Have you seen it yet? Also this month, the New
Zealand International Arts Festival is in full swing, and Te Papa is participating by hosting a number of important
Festival events. Be sure to see Tä Moko, a fascinating insight into the Mäori art of skin marking. Over nine days you'll
have the rare chance to watch some of Aotearoa's top moko artists at work. Daily floortalks and a lecture on 11 March
will shed further light on this thriving art. Another festival highlight, hosted by Te Papa, is the Art and Belief
Lunchtime Series of seminars. In wonderfully personal and revealing discussions, the creators of various Festival shows
talk about how their beliefs influence their work. Nathaniel Lees, Jack Body, Hone Kouka, and Roger Hall are just a few
of the prominent artists who'll open up. The seminars run in conjunction with Te Papa's Signs and Wonders | He Tohu He
Ohorere exhibition, which explores the many and varied ways in which people express ideas about the supernatural. And
Festival Fever doesn't stop there. During March there are plenty of other exciting events - many of them free - for the
whole family. Read on and see ...
EVENTS: Wednesday 3 12.10pm-1pm: New Zealand International Arts Festival: Art and Belief Lunchtime Series. In
conjunction with the Signs and Wonders | He Tohu He Ohorere exhibition, this session features Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui,
choreographer; Dirk Snellings, musical director; Murray Lynch, director; and Dan Adams, composer. The Marae, Level 4.
Free entry. 8pm-9.50pm: New Zealand International Arts Festival: The Songmaker's Chair. A heart-warming story and a
tribute to all Pacific peoples, with dance, music, and singing that ranges from traditional hymns to rap. Written by
Albert Wendt. Soundings Theatre, Level 2. Admission charges apply. For more info, and to book, contact Ticketek on (04)
384 3840. 1.30pm-2.30pm: Dinosaurs from China floortalks with Dr. Hamish Campbell. The TOWER Gallery, Level 4.
Exhibition entry charges apply.
Thursday 4 6.30pm-8pm: Shisen Miyabi School of Okinawa. From an isolated group of islands south of the Japanese mainland
comes a totally indigenous traditional culture. The dancers tell stories of daily life in Okinawa using traditional
music, skilful choreography, and sumptuous costumes. The Marae, Level 4. Free entry.
Saturday 6 10am-4pm: Tä Moko - A history on skin (daily until 14 March). Celebrate the Mäori art of ta moko (skin
marking). Come and watch some of the finest tä moko artists in Aotearoa as they work. See how tä moko is practised
today, and find out about its whakapapa (genealogy) and its role in defining Mäori identity. The Marae, Level 4. Free
entry. 12 noon & 2pm: Tä Moko floortalks (daily until 14 March). The Marae, Level 4. Free entry. 7.30pm-9.15pm: New Zealand
International Arts Festival: Animal Farm. Exciting, physical, provocative theatre from electric theatre group Wild Rice
and Director Ivan Heng. Soundings Theatre, Level 2. Admission charges apply. For more info, and to book, contact
Ticketek on (04) 384 3840.
Sunday 7 10am-4pm: Tä Moko - A history on skin. The Marae, Level 4. Free entry. 12 noon & 2pm: Tä Moko floortalks. The Marae, Level 4. Free entry. 1pm-1.45pm: New Zealand International Arts Festival: Dulsori.
A dynamic and unique South Korean percussion group, blending traditional rhythms with contemporary style. Amphitheatre,
Level 1. (wet weather venue, Wellington Foyer, Level 2). Free entry. 1pm-2.45pm & 7.30pm-9.15pm: New Zealand International Arts Festival: Animal Farm. Exciting, physical, provocative theatre from
electric theatre group Wild Rice and Director Ivan Heng. Soundings Theatre, Level 2. Admission charges apply. For more
info, and to book, contact Ticketek on (04) 384 3840.
Monday 8 10am-4pm: Tä Moko-A history on skin. The Marae, Level 4. Free entry. 12 noon & 2pm: Tä Moko floortalks. The Marae, Level 4. Free entry. 7.30pm-9.15pm: New Zealand International Arts Festival: Animal
Farm. Exciting, physical, provocative theatre from electric theatre group Wild Rice and Director Ivan Heng. Soundings
Theatre, Level 2. Admission charges apply. For more info, and to book, contact Ticketek on (04) 384 3840.
Tuesday 9 10m-4pm: Tä Moko-A history on skin. The Marae, Level 4. Free entry. 12 noon & 2pm: Tä Moko floortalks. The Marae, Level 4. Free entry. 12.10pm-1pm: New Zealand International Arts Festival: Art and
Belief Lunchtime Series. In conjunction with the Signs and Wonders | He Tohu He Ohorere exhibition, this session
features Neil Ieremia, artistic director of Black Grace; Hone Kouka, writer of The Prophet; and Ivan Heng, director of
Animal Farm. The Marae, Level 4. Free entry. 7.30pm-9.15pm: New Zealand International Arts Festival: Animal Farm.
Exciting, physical, provocative theatre from electric theatre group Wild Rice and Director Ivan Heng. Soundings Theatre,
Level 2. Admission charges apply. For more info, and to book, contact Ticketek on (04) 384 3840.
Wednesday 10 10am-4pm: Tä Moko-A history on skin. The Marae, Level 4. Free entry. 12 noon & 2pm: Tä Moko floortalks. The Marae, Level 4. Free entry. 12.10pm-1pm: New Zealand International Arts Festival: Art and
Belief Lunchtime Series. In conjunction with the Signs and Wonders | He Tohu He Ohorere exhibition, this session
features playwright Roger Hall. Circa Theatre (opposite Te Papa on the Plaza). Free entry. 1pm-2.45pm & 7.30pm-9.15pm: New Zealand International Arts Festival: Animal Farm. Exciting, physical, provocative theatre from
electric theatre group Wild Rice and Director Ivan Heng. Soundings Theatre, Level 2. Admission charges apply. For more
info, and to book, contact Ticketek on (04) 384 3840.
Thursday 11 10am-4pm: Tä Moko-A history on skin. The Marae, Level 4. Free entry. 12 noon & 2pm: Tä Moko floortalks. The Marae, Level 4. Free entry. 5.45pm-6.50pm: New Zealand International Arts Festival:
Writers and Readers. Renowned writers read and discuss their work amid the vivid images of the Signs and Wonders | He
Tohu He Ohorere exhibition. Creation, paradise, prophecies, visitations, rituals, death, and the afterlife are some of
the themes they explore. With Roma Potiki, Catherine Chidgey, and Briar Grace Smith of New Zealand, plus Eliot
Weinberger from New York. The Boulevard, Level 5. Free entry. 7pm-8pm: Tä Moko-A history on skin lecture. Prominent Tä
Moko artist Derek Lardelli talks on the histories, ancestral origins, and practices of Tä Moko, as well as visions for
the future. Presented by Te Papa in partnership with Toi Mäori Aotearoa (include logo). The Marae, Level 4. Free entry.
Friday 12 10am-4pm: Tä Moko-A history on skin. The Marae, Level 4. Free entry. 12 noon & 2pm: Tä Moko floortalks. The Marae, Level 4. Free entry.
Saturday 13 10am-4pm: Ta Moko-A history on skin. The Marae, Level 4. Free entry. 12 noon & 2pm: Tä Moko floortalks. The Marae, Level 4. Free entry.
Sunday 14 10am-4pm: Tä Moko - A history on skin. The Marae, Level 4. Free entry. 12 noon & 2pm: Tä Moko floortalks. The Marae, Level 4. Free entry. 2pm-2.45pm: Discovery Hour: Tattooing in Samoa. Hey kids! Join
Te Papa's Sean Mallon for a show and tell session about why and how tattooing is done in Samoa. Enjoy a tattooing
demonstration, then decorate your own armband. PlaNet Pasifika. Level 4. Free entry.
Monday 15 5.15pm-6.30pm: Fumjo Najo Lecture. In association with the major exhibition Mediarena: contemporary art from
Japan at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery: Fumio Nanjo, Deputy Director of Mori Art Museum, Tokyo will discuss recent
developments in contemporary Japanese art. Mr Nanjo is a leading international figure who curated the inaugural Yokohama
Triennale in 2001 and served as Japanese Commissioner for the Venice Biennale in 1997. Rangimarie 1, Level 3. Free
entry.
Tuesday 16 12.10pm-1pm: New Zealand International Arts Festival: Art and Belief Lunchtime Series. In conjunction with
the Signs and Wonders | He Tohu He Ohorere exhibition, this session features New Zealand composers David Downes, David
Long (Velocities II), Anthony Ritchie (Quartet), and Jack Body (Body Portrait). The Marae, Level 4. Free entry.
7.30pm-8.40pm: New Zealand International Arts Festival: Quartet. A delightfully anarchic, comedy chamber opera.
Soundings Theatre, Level 2. Admission charges apply. For more info, and to book, contact Ticketek on (04) 384 3840.
Wednesday 17 12.10pm-1pm: New Zealand International Arts Festival: Art and Belief Lunchtime Series. In conjunction with
the Signs and Wonders | He Tohu He Ohorere exhibition, this session features artists from The Overcoat. The Marae, Level
4. Free entry. 7.30pm-8.40pm: New Zealand International Arts Festival: Quartet. A delightfully anarchic comedy chamber
opera. Soundings Theatre, Level 2. Admission charges apply. For more info, and to book, contact Ticketek on (04) 384
3840.
Thursday 18 7.30pm-8.40pm: New Zealand International Arts Festival: Quartet. A delightfully anarchic comedy chamber
opera. Soundings Theatre, Level 2. Admission charges apply. For more info, and to book, contact Ticketek on (04) 384
3840.
Friday 19 7.30pm-8.40pm: New Zealand International Arts Festival: Quartet. A delightfully anarchic comedy chamber opera.
Soundings Theatre, Level 2. Admission charges apply. For more info, and to book, contact Ticketek on (04) 384 3840.
Saturday 20 1pm-2pm: Elena and Simply Fantastic String (SFS). Originally part of the WCC Summer City Festival, the event
was postponed due to rain and moved to Te Papa. The Marae, Level 4. Free entry. 7.30pm-8.40pm: New Zealand International
Arts Festival: Quartet. A delightfully anarchic comedy chamber opera. Soundings Theatre, Level 2. Admission charges
apply. For more info, and to book, contact Ticketek on (04) 384 3840.
Sunday 2111.30am-2pm: New Zealand International Arts Festival: Osadia. Wild and wonderful hair sculpture. Wellington
Foyer, Level 2. Free entry. 5.30pm-6.40pm: New Zealand International Arts Festival: Quartet. A delightfully anarchic,
comedy chamber opera. Soundings Theatre, Level 2. Admission charges apply. For more info, and to book, contact Ticketek
on (04) 384 3840.
Saturday 27 12 noon-1pm: Wellington Brass Band. Te Papa Amphitheatre, Level 1. Free entry. (Wet weather venue:
Wellington Foyer, Level 2).
Sunday 28 1pm-2pm: Calle Cuba. Playing authentic son - the traditional Cuban music that forms the basis of modern salsa.
The Marae, Level 4. Free entry.
SHORT-TERM EXHIBITIONS: Dinosaurs from China Take this rare opportunity to see some of the world's largest and finest
dinosaur skeletons. Marvel at huge fossil skeletons - the largest measures 24 metres long - that date back over 150
million years to the Jurassic Period. See gigantic, lumbering sauropods and vicious meat-eating predators such as the
terrifying Yangchuanosaurus, a Chinese relative of Tyrannosaurus rex. Until 12 April 2004. Adults $9.50, children (4-14
years) $4.50. Family concessions available.
Signs and Wonders | He Tohu He Ohorere An exhibition exploring through multiple cultural viewpoints and spiritual
traditions, the ways in which people express ideas of supernatural encounters. Key New Zealand artists represented
include Colin McCahon, Ralph Hotere, Rita Angus, John Pule, Julia Morison, Don Driver, Milan Mrkusich, and Tony Fomison.
Until September 2004.
Te Awa Tupua: The Whanganui Iwi Exhibition In partnership with Te Papa, Whanganui iwi present stories and taonga from
their unique Whanganui river culture, from Te Kähui Maunga (the mountain clan) to Tangaroa (the sea). The exhibition's
central theme is contained in the whakatauakï (proverb), 'E rere kau mai te awa nui mai Te Kähui Maunga ki Tangaroa, ko
au te awa ko te awa ko au.' (The great river flows from the mountain clan to Tangaroa, I am the river; the river is me).
Until May 2006. Free entry.
Kiri's Dresses: A glimpse into a Diva's wardrobe Dresses from Dame Kiri Te Kanawa's wardrobe and her memories of them
give an intimate glimpse into the life of a world-famous lyric soprano. Until September 2004. Free entry.
Wings: Nature's flying machines | Hua rere a te taiao A rich investigation of flight in the natural world and people's
ingenuity with wings. Explore the marvels of flying, highlighted by hands-on interactives and stunning audio-visuals.
Until 25 April 2004. Free entry.
Ngä Toko Rima | Contemporary clayworks Out of the creation stories of fire, water, and earth, five leading Mäori artists
create powerful new works in clay. Until April 2005. Free entry.
Aainaa: reflections through Indian weddings Created by Te Papa in partnership with New Zealand Indian communities, this
exhibition explores the wedding ritual to show both traditional and modern experiences of marriage. Featured until the
end of the month is the wedding rituals of the Sikh community. Until late 2004. Free entry.