Arapata Hakiwai has worked for the National Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa for over fifteen years, having worked in a number of roles including Exhibitions Concept Developer, Curator and Community Partnerships Manager Māori for National Services, and is currently Scholar Mātauranga Māori, leading the research on the Māori collections. Arapata was formerly the Manager of Bicultural Operations at Te Papa from 1999 through to 2002 and Director of Mātauranga Māori from 2003-2009.