Māori art returns to New York’s Met museum in reimagined exhibition

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City has reopened its Oceania galleries after an extensive renovation and reimagining from an Indigenous perspective. The new Arts of Oceania installation features over 650 works representing 140 cultures from across the region, including Australia, New Guinea, and New Zealand. Curated by Maia Nuku, the exhibition took eight years to plan and showcases artworks created in the last 500 years, emphasizing the ocean as a connective highway rather than a barrier. The reopening continues the legacy of the landmark 1984 exhibition Te Māori: Māori Art from New Zealand Collections, which set a benchmark for shared decision-making between museums and Indigenous communities.