Published to mark 20 years since the landmark opening of Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand in 1998, this illustrated book by well-known museum studies academic Conal McCarthy examines the vision behind the museum, how it has evolved in the last two decades, and the particular way Te Papa goes about the business of being a national museum in a nation with two treaty partners. McCarthy provides a warm and at times critical appraisal of its origins, development, innovations, and reception, including some of its key museological features which have drawn international attention, highlights of exhibitions, collections and programs over its first twenty years, and the issues that have sparked national and local debate.
"I cannot think of another national museum, built in the last forty years, that has been more globally influential in changing how these institutions represent the nation and, more generally, the indigenous peoples of the world. Indeed, it is hard to think of another national museum that has so fundamentally rewritten the ethics of being a museum."
