Pātaka Art + Museum celebrated its 25th anniversary with a series of events in October 2023 and a new book. Ka mua, ka muri. Looking back, moving forward: 25 years of Pātaka profiles the gallery and museum’s achievements over the last 25 years and looks forward to the next – continuing to champion emerging and established artists, making space for Māori and Moana art and forging new connections here and across the globe.
The birthday month was also marked by a fundraising gala dinner hosted by the Pātaka Foundation and featuring live entertainment and an art auction.
Pātaka director, Ana Sciascia said at the time, “Pātaka has always done what wasn’t possible elsewhere, and as the sector catches up, our sense of what is possible at Pātaka must now also expand and extend.”
Ka mua, ka muri. Looking back, moving forward is edited by Ioana Gordon-Smith and Ana Sciascia, and highlights 25 exhibitions and 25 items from the collection. With a rich history of over 800 exhibitions and 22,000 collection objects, there was robust debate about what to include in the book. The title is from the whakatauki “Ka mua, ka muri” also known as “walking backwards into the future”. Sciascia says it suggests Pātaka should reflect and look to the past to inform and inspire its future.