Waikato Museum named as finalist twice in national museum awards

21 April 2016

Waikato Museum has been named a finalist twice in the 2016 ServiceIQ Museum Awards  for the exhibitions E Ngaa uri Whakatupu – Weaving Legacies: Dame Rangimarie Hetet and Diggeress Te Kanawa and For Us They Fell - Waikato WW1 Centenary Exhibition.

The exhibitions have been selected as finalists in the Best Exhibition Regional Taonga Māori and the ServiceIQ Best Museum Visitor Experience categories respectively. The Museum Awards honour excellence in innovation and exhibition creation. 

Waikato Museum Director, Cherie Meecham is thrilled with the announcement.

“Our two entries represent our vision to be the best regional museum in New Zealand through innovation, smart thinking and a visitor-focussed experience,” she said.

“For Us They Fell tells the Waikato story of World War 1 in an engaging, emotive and modern way within the gallery, and an interactive website where around 500 registered updaters work to develop and share content. E Ngaa uri Whakatupu shared the extraordinary Hetet/Te Kanawa collection of stunning Maaori weaving while providing a backdrop for the celebration and continuation of Maaori women’s arts through display, interaction and events.”

Museums Aotearoa announced today the number of entries submitted to the annual ServiceIQ Museum Awards nearly doubled this year, reflecting the momentum the awards are gathering.

Winners will be announced on Wednesday 18 May at a formal event to celebrate the ServiceIQ Museum Awards.

In 2012 Waikato Museum won two awards in the annual Museum Awards. The museum was awarded the Project Achievement Award: Exhibition Excellence – Social History for the 2011 rugby exhibition Red, Yellow and (All) Black and the Judges’ Award for Sustainability for an innovative temporary exhibition wall fabrication system.

For more information contact:

Louise Belay
Partnerships and Communications Manager
07 838 6956
021 536 557
louise.belay@hcc.govt.nz