Aotearoa Manu Take World Art Stage As 61st Venice Biennale Opens

May 7, 2026

On Wednesday 6 May in Venice, at the opening of the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, Aotearoa New Zealand unveiled its national pavilion, Taharaki Skyside, a major new exhibition by Fiona Pardington (Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, Ngāti Kahungunu, Clan Cameron of Erracht) ONZM.

Amid a time of global ecological crisis, Taharaki Skyside fuses Indigenous knowledge, environmental urgency, and photographic mastery at the world’s most prestigious international contemporary art showcase. Grounded in mātauranga Māori, the exhibition presents manu (birds) not as museum specimens, but as living ancestors: bearers of memory, loss, and responsibility, bridging earth and sky, past and present.

A quarter of a century after two Ngāi Tahu artists, Peter Robinson and Jacqueline Fraser, marked a milestone with Aotearoa New Zealand’s first official national pavilion at Venice in 2001, Pardington continues that lineage, paddling the waka for her whānau and iwi on the international stage.

Of her work, Fiona says: “Each manu is a testament to the interconnectedness of science, memory and spirit. Bringing their presence to Venice is both a call to action and an honour.”

Taharaki Skyside presents 17 striking, large-scale portraits of taxidermied manu from museum collections across Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia. Among them are kākā, kea, takahē, tūī, kākāpō and more. Each exquisite image reveals and affirms the mauri (life force) of the manu.

Many of these birds are extinct or on the brink: huia and whēkau (laughing owl) lost forever, others critically endangered by habitat destruction, invasive species and climate change. Each manu embodies its own whakapapa and story, including a North Island kōkako from Te Papa Tongarewa’s collection dating back to 1833, one of the oldest specimens represented here.

Aotearoa New Zealand’s 2026 Venice Biennale presentation is led by Creative New Zealand Toi Aotearoa, in partnership with Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū and Te Runanaga o Ngāi Tahu, with generous support from the New Zealand at Venice Patrons. With creative director Neil Pardington (Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, Ngāti Kahungunu, Clan Cameron of Erracht), curators Felicity Milburn, Chloe Cull, and curatorial contribution from Andrew Paul Wood.

Puamiria Parata-Goodall (Ngāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, Waitaha, Ngāti Kahungunu), Arts Council member and Venice Kaihautū, says Ngāi Tahu acknowledges with pride Fiona’s presence at the Venice Biennale.

“Her work elevates our manu as taonga, treasured reminders of our past, present and future. These are not simply images; they are acts of remembrance and recognition, calling attention to what has been lost, what endures, and our shared responsibility to the natural world and each other.”

A new publication accompanying Taharaki Skyside features the avian portraits created for the Biennale, alongside commissioned essays from leading writers and curators including Megan Tamati-Quennell, Maia Nuku, Geoffrey Batchen, Harry Rickit, and Andrew Paul Wood. Published by Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, it enriches the exhibition’s historical, cultural, and environmental context, and extends its life beyond Venice. It’s available for purchase on the Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū website from 9 May.

Fiona builds on the tradition of toi Māori (Māori art) at Venice. At the 60th Venice Biennale in 2024, the Mataaho Collective, a group of four wāhine Māori practitioners, won the Golden Lion for Best Participant in the International Exhibition, one of the art world’s highest honours.

Kent Gardner, Commissioner for Aotearoa New Zealand at the Biennale and Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa member, says Fiona’s portraits are more than just images.

“Fiona’s presentation at Venice is the culmination of years of sustained vision, care and collective hard work, carried by whānau, iwi, curators and partners who have worked tirelessly to bring Taharaki Skyside to this moment. The extraordinary response from the New Zealand at Venice Patrons, delivering a record level of philanthropic support, reflects the power of Fiona’s art to move people and the shared belief that these stories of manu, memory and environmental responsibility deserve a place on the world stage.”

Fiona is not the only Aotearoa New Zealand artist in Venice. From 4 to 8 May 2026, Paerangi: Venice features Māori artists John Turi-Tiakitai, Kereama Taepa, Neke Moa, and Suzanne Tamaki, who are working collectively to create new site-responsive work on Giudecca Island. Choreographer and dancer Oli Mathiesen (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Manu) will present his new work Just Between Me and Jesus at Venice Biennale Danza from 17 July – 1 August and renowned director and choreographer Lemi Ponifasio presents Star Returning: Venice as part of Venice Biennale Teatro from 20 – 21 June.

The public can view Taharaki Skyside, and the rest of the Biennale, from 9 May to 22 November 2026. The exhibition will also be presented for New Zealand audiences at Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū from mid-2027.

Creative New Zealand is committed to supporting a national pavilion at the Venice Biennale through 2028 and 2030.

To keep up with the latest from Venice, see www.nzatvenice.com

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