Te Taru White
Te Taru White is the Kaihatu (joint leader and curator) of Te Papa, Aotearoa New Zealand's national museum. He travels around the world speaking about how museums can bring cultures together, sharing stories and developing understanding and appreciation for other peoples. We met with Te Taru on the last day of our trip during a fierce storm on the North Island whose howling winds you can hear in the background of the interview.Videos featuring Te Taru White
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Sharing Power
Te Taru White, the Kaihatu (joint leader and curator) of Aotearoa New Zealand's national museum, explains the difficulty of creating oneness in a country where indigenous people have been marginalized. Sharing power at the level of national institutions can help empower the marginalized and work toward oneness.
(3 min 4 sec) -
A Maori Point of View
Te Taru White, the Kaihatu (joint leader and curator) of Aotearoa New Zealand's national museum, explains the interconnectedness of life from a Maori perspective. Te Taru tells us that Maori and scientific accounts of ecology are complementary. The Maori system provides the genealogical and mythological keys that integrate the observer as a living part of an interconnected field. Te Taru believes that these systems can co-exist, and that oneness begins when two separate worldviews can accept one another without putting one another down.
(4 min 51 sec) -
To Grow, Balance and Nurture
Te Taru White, the Kaihatu (joint leader and curator) of Aotearoa New Zealand's national museum, explains the responsibility of guarding the past and translating it to the future. In museums this principle extends to any kind of collective management; it is not a question of ownership and property but rather of contributing one's abilities for the sake of the whole.
(1 min 45 sec)
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