What's on

Evenings with an Expert

Enlighten your evening
EVERY TWILIGHT TUESDAY

Enlighten your evening

6PM & 7PM
MEET IN TE AO MĀRAMA SOUTH ATRIUM
FREE, NO BOOKING REQUIRED

Every Tuesday is an opportunity to broaden your knowledge with Evenings with an Expert. This series of short, 20-minute talks will be led by a different Auckland War Memorial Museum staff member each week, with topics ranging from fashion to activism to conservation and everything in between.

There are two talks per evening, so come and grab a bite to eat at Tuitui Museum Bistro & Café and explore the galleries after dark.

Upcoming talks

Every week will feature a new talk by a different expert. Please note, this schedule is subject to change.

EEK! It’s Shark Week!
TUE 10 AUG

Tom Trnski

EEK! It’s Shark Week!

6PM & 7PM
LAND GALLERY, LEVEL 1
FREE, NO BOOKING REQUIRED

Sharks are feared and loathed, but they don’t deserve this reputation. Tom will provide an overview of the diversity of sharks and rays, their ecological importance, his own experience with sharks, and threats to their existence – they have more to fear from humans! He will bring along a few shark bits to demonstrate how they have evolved to occupy a range of lifestyles.

Dr Tom Trnski is Head of Natural Sciences at Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland Museum. He has been studying the fish biodiversity of the Pacific Ocean for over 30 years and has had many shark encounters. Over his career he has witnessed the collapse of top level predators in many regions, and is concerned about the future of marine ecosystems in the absence of these important, large fishes.

180 Years of Photography from the Auckland Museum Collections
TUE 17 AUG

Shaun Higgins

180 Years of Photography from the Auckland Museum Collections

6PM & 7PM
MEET IN THE LIBRARY, LEVEL 2
FREE, NO BOOKING REQUIRED

A show-and-tell style talk featuring a range of early photographs showing the transition from single shot images to mass production of photography for all. Photographs come in many shapes and sizes and can be made with all sorts of materials, some are much safer than others. Ever heard the phrase 'mad as a hatter'? Come and see how daguerreotypes are part of this story.

In his role as Curator Pictorial, Shaun manages photography and artwork collections in Documentary Heritage with responsibility for collection development and research in this area. He provides advice to collectors and the public on identification and preservation of documentary heritage items as well as providing collection expertise to the Museum’s exhibitions and public programmes. Shaun regularly collaborates with photographers in Auckland's communities and has undertaken research on early Auckland daguerreotypists. 

The WWI Canvas Maps Conservation Project - Shining a Light on Hidden Stories
TUE 24 AUG

Sue Cooper

The WWI Canvas Maps Conservation Project - Shining a Light on Hidden Stories

6PM & 7PM
MEET IN WWI HALL OF MEMORIES, LEVEL 2
FREE, NO BOOKING REQUIRED

Come and learn about exciting new discoveries made during conservation work on the huge canvas maps in the Museum's WW1 Hall of Memories. Conservator Sue Cooper will share some of the fascinating insights revealed during treatment of these maps and the many mysteries which still remain. This is the first time the canvas panels have been off the wall in 90 years. Enjoy an opportunity to assess ultra-violet and infrared images of overpainted areas and see what you think is hidden behind!

Sue Cooper is Principal Conservator at Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland Museum. Over the last nine years she has overseen conservation work on large-scale projects such as the Pacific Collection Access Project, the Te Awe Taonga Māori Project and the Hotunui Preservation Project. Sue trained as an Objects Conservator in the UK at De Montfort University Lincoln.

We are what we wear
TUE 31 AUG

Grace Lai

We are what we wear

7PM
MEET IN TE AO MĀRAMA SOUTH ATRIUM
FREE, NO BOOKING REQUIRED

From bathing caps to feather boas, Deadly Ponies to Versace, the fashion collection at Auckland Museum is extensive. Covering iconic pieces by designers who wrote New Zealand fashion history as well as garments that ​represent key moments in national and global events, the collection shows how what we wear can communicate personal and national identities. Join Grace Lai, Curator of Applied Arts and Design as she takes you on a journey through Auckland Museum’s large and eclectic wardrobe and reveals what it says about us.

Grace Lai is the Curator of Applied Arts and Design at Auckland War Memorial Museum​ Tāmaki Paenga Hira, where she leads the development, research and exhibition of a national archive of craft and design.