Modern Living: Design in 1950s New Zealand

Overview

Te Papa's next exhibition will showcase modern design and art of 1950s Aotearoa. Modern Living: Design in 1950s New Zealand focuses on a 1950s exhibition which was held in Auckland, and conveyed the idea of modern living to New Zealand.

The exhibition introduced New Zealanders to a vision for a more equal, happier way of life that grew from the devastation of World War II. The version at Te Papa's Toi Art offers a lens into the ground-breaking Auckland exhibition, and an exciting era of design in Aotearoa.

Modern Living features local and international furniture, pottery, textiles, photographs, lighting, art and architectural drawings. Works such as Frances Hodgkins' 1938 print Arrangement of Jugs, Frank Hofmann's photograph of the 1952 Art and Design exhibition and John Crichton's Safari Chair will be on display.

Te Papa will be hosting a series of public events alongside the exhibition, exploring local contemporary design, post-COVID-19 and election-year issues, celebrating young people as energetic change-makers, and showing potential study and career pathways related to design and architecture.

Additional curator talks and sensory tours for low-vision and blind visitors will run throughout the course of the exhibition.

Modern Living: Design in 1950s New Zealand opens to the public on Saturday, 22 August and runs until May 2021.