Wellington Museum senior curator Ian Wards is a huge Freddy’s fan and jumped at the opportunity to help create the exhibition.
He said the band – formed in Wellington – maintains a strong connection with the city, so the project made sense.
“In the late 90s, there was this really collaborative scene going on in Wellington. Rent was pretty cheap, artists could afford to be artists. And so the members of Fat Freddy’s Drop kind of came together” said Wards.
Fat Freddy’s Drop.
The group is a seven-piece band formed in 1999, having originally all been separate artists. Their unique sound quickly separated them from other bands with a combination of dub, reggae, soul, jazz, and techno.
With eight studio albums, they’ve picked up multiple ‘Best Group’ and ‘Best Album’ awards at the Aotearoa Music Awards.
Wards believes it’s a tale worth telling, and is “one of the most rich, dense exhibitions we’ve ever come up with”.
“Every metre of the floor, every metre of the walls is covered in an amazing positive energy.”
Museum registrar Nikolas Brocklehurst and senior curator Ian Wards working on the object display. Photo / Wellington Museum
The band’s been directly involved with the process themselves, providing the majority of the items on display, including artist armbands from tours, funky tracksuits and equipment from recording studios.
Awards they’ve picked up along the way also sit proudly on display.
The exhibition’s been in the works since the start of the year, and is put on for “Wellingtonians, visitors, people who love Freddy’s, and those who want to have a good, uplifting, fun, positive experience”, said Wards.
There’s something for everyone inside, and Wards reckons it’s simply awesome.
Although the band hasn’t seen the finished product just yet, he hopes it’ll “dazzle them”.
“My hope and aim is that people leave with a smile on their dial, you know, that we just want to kind of put some good vibes back into Wellington.
“They might sort of wince a bit when they hear it, but they really are the sound of summer for so many New Zealanders. And that’s because their music is positive, it’s upbeat, and it just creates a good time,” said Wards.
The exhibition runs from Saturday, November 22 until March 8, 2026 at Wellington Museum.