Interpreting indigenous art in university collections

Abstract

Debates on the representation of indigenous cultures in museums have come to the fore in the past thirty years. This paper examines the context for the opening of Waipapa Marae at the University of Auckland in 1988. It outlines a history of Māori meeting houses used for teaching and learning in a specifically Māori context in the New Zealand tertiary sector. The challenge for the university curator with a marae as part of the collection is how to interpret it for the 21st century. Facilitating a student-led process can make present those who have been traditionally absent in ethnographic exhibitions – the culture group who produced the objects.