Wairau Māori Art Gallery

The Wairau Māori Art Gallery is the first dedicated public Māori art gallery in Aotearoa.

It joins a select group of public indigenous art galleries internationally and is housed within the Hundertwasser Art Centre.

The name ‘Wairau’ is Te Reo Māori for One Hundred Waters, just as Hundertwasser means One Hundred Waters in the German language. In Te Ao Māori the notion of multiple waters has deep symbolic meaning since water is the basis of all living things.

The Wairau Māori Art Gallery celebrates and showcases the best of contemporary Māori art and customary practice in Aotearoa.

The gallery is overseen by the Wairau Māori Art Gallery Trust. There is a changing programme of exhibitions which are designed by guest Māori curators. From time to time other indigenous communities, curators and artists may be invited to participate and exhibit at Wairau.

Running alongside the Gallery’s programme there is a tuakana/teina (teacher/mentor) strategy to support the next generation of Māori arts professionals.