Kiingi Tuheitia Portraiture Awards Exhibition

 The Waitangi Treaty Grounds are pleased to announce that we are the latest museum to have the honour of exhibition the 2025 Kiingi Tuheitia Portraiture Awards. This multifaceted exhibition celebrates the excellence and talent of 40 emerging Māori artists who were the finalists of this prestigious biennial award. The works on display have been crafted in a wide variety of mediums, from photography to painting to sculpture to fiber arts. 

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. 

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 the 28th of February until the 28th of June 2026.