Gavin Hurley’s portraits substantiate, interfere and play with the role of portraiture as a tool for the crafting and performance of public personae.  

Image: Gavin Hurley, Standing on Moonlight, 2021, courtesy of the artist.

In response to the Tuia 250 event, Me Anga Whakamua – Facing the Future, explores the impact of the first encounters between Māori and Europeans. Emotive photographic portraits of tāngata whenua, their thoughts and aspirations offer a window into everyday lives of Māori looking back to the past to form a pathway to a shared future. 

Image: Diane Stoppard, Papanui Polamalu, 2019, Silver gelatin print, Courtesy Hihiaua Cultural Centre

The Kiingi Tuheitia Portraiture Award is a competition that encourages young Maaori artists to create portraits of their tupuna (ancestors) in any medium. The Award is hosted and administered by Te Pūkenga Whakaata the New Zealand Portrait Gallery in honour of the late Maaori King, Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII.

Delving into the complicated multiplicities of self-perception and identity, this exhibition presents a selection of innovative painted self-portraits by modern and contemporary artists from Aotearoa New Zealand.

Image: Sacha Lees, Sometimes an Outline Coloured In, 2020. Collection New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pūkenga Whakaata, winner of the Adam Portraiture Award 2020.