The Waitangi Treaty Grounds is the latest museum to have the honour of exhibiting the 2025 Kiingi Tuheitia Portraiture Award. This multifaceted exhibition highlights the talent and expertise of the 40 emerging Māori artists of this prestigious biennial award.

The Kiingi Tuheitia Portraiture Award is a competition that encourages young Māori artists to create portraits celebrating and honouring their tūpuna (ancestors) through any artistic medium. The Award and subsequent touring exhibition are 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.

Curatorial Manager Owen Taituha says, “We are excited to be hosting the Kiingi Tuheitia Portraiture Award exhibition. After witnessing how deeply our visitors connected with this nationally significant exhibition in 2024, we feel privileged to be able to host once more this important body of work at Te Kōngahu Museum of Waitangi Gallery. The exhibits spotlight discussions about representation, self-actualisation and honouring ancestral whakapapa. These are themes that resonate strongly with the kaupapa and place of the Waitangi Treaty Grounds.”

The artworks on display were chosen by a distinguished panel of judges, including contemporary Māori artist Dr Areta Wilkinson (Ngāi Tahu), head carver for Waikato-Tainui iwi Renta Te Waiata (Waikato-Ngāti Māhuta, Te Arawa - Ngāti Kea Ngāti Tuara), and leading painter John Walsh (Aitanga a Hauiti).

The exhibition will be on display at Te Kōngahu Museum of Waitangi at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds from 28 February until 28 June 2026.

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