Kia ora,

The Friends programme for 2019 is well underway. In February many of you had such a fabulous night with Paintvine on Valentine’s Day, we hope this will be an annual event. Steven Desmond’s talk Mirrors and Torrents, was simply fascinating, (keep Sunday 12 May free for our next exciting talk in partnership with The Arts Society), heard from the History curators about some of their recent exciting acquisitions and enjoyed a delightful afternoon visit to Elizabeth Thomson’s studio.

March will also be a very busy month, beginning with the Friends away tour to historic Whanganui and ending with our exclusive Karori modernism architectural walking tour. In between, make sure you take advantage of the Friends special admission pricing for the four Te Papa talks on the Terracotta Warriors, you can book through our website here.

The Friends financial year ends on 31 March, so we are thinking ahead to our AGM and committee renewal. The Friends Committee meets on the second Tuesday of the month, from 4.30 to 6.30 pm. Serving on the Committee offers a wonderful opportunity to work behind the scenes at Te Papa and engage with its amazing curators and collection managers and other staff, as well as those in the art and museum worlds beyond Te Papa. It also brings many opportunities to meet and get to know so many of you, our wonderfully loyal and supportive members. If you would like to join us, please get in touch with the office ([email protected]) as we would love to hear from you.

Meantime, keep a look out for our e-news and make sure you book for events early. And do regularly check our website, as special opportunities can come up at short notice.

See you soon at Te Papa,
Nga mihi nui
Elizabeth Kay