There's always something fascinating at Aratoi, the Wairarapa's largest museum.
You'll discover national and Wairarapa displays, exquisite Māori taonga/treasures, ceramics, paintings, photography, children's art, textiles, and much more.
Check out what's on at Aratoi now:
- School Holidays - Aratoi will be opening up an entire gallery just for kids to drop in and be creative. Explore the 9 stars of Matariki through environment and light, large scale building, drawing, cutting and making instruments.
- Matariki 4 July 2020 - 30 August 2020 Aratoi celebrates Matariki with astrophotography. Six Wellington and Wairarapa based artists show the power and beauty of the night from their own perspectives. The projections celebrate darkness, the depths of winter and the shortest day marked by the rising of the star cluster Matariki. All the images are from the Wairarapa - they'llencourage you to go outside and admire the sky. Think about your place in the world, the history behind the star stories and soak up the darkness.
Aratoi is part of the Masterton Arts Quarter, along with ConArt Gallery & Studio next door, King St Artworks and Te Pa. Download the Masterton Arts Quarter leaflet to learn more.
Entry to Aratoi is by donation - please give what you can. Aratoi is a registered charity.
Aratoi also serves as a performance art space, an educational centre, and has an eclectic gift shop.
Not far from Aratoi are a range of other activities and places:
Next door is Entice Cafe, a very family-friendly cafe with great coffee. The Masterton i-SITE Visitor Centre is just next door, and beautiful Queen Elizabeth Park is over the road. A few metres away is The Wool Shed, New Zealand's national museum of sheep and shearing. You can see this is a cool part of Masterton to check out!
