What’s On
One O'Clock Jump: British Linocuts from the Jazz Age
Dynamic and vibrant prints from a fast-changing world.
Dummies & Doppelgängers
The unforgettable art of being someone else.
He Kapuka Oneone – A Handful of Soil
Exploring the relationship between tākata and whenua – people and land – through Aotearoa New Zealand’s art history.
Open 7 days, 10am - 5pm
Late night Wednesday until 9pm
Free entry, free wifi
Commentary
Clocking Off
For most people, migration is a semi-abstract concept. It’s the fall guy for social issues, the topic of choice for political pundits. For me, it was something I romanticised. Although both of my parents were born in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland I always thought of myself as the child of migrants, as all four of my grandparents were born outside of Aotearoa New Zealand and immigrated here for various reasons at various times. However, it wasn’t until I became a migrant worker myself, after accepting a job in the United States and navigating immigration firsthand, that I realised how difficult moving countries was.
Commentary
Japan circa 1970, Landscape and Chile
In 1951, the Treaty of San Francisco formally ended the war between the Allied Powers and Japan. The United States and Japan also signed the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security (known in Japan as Anpo), in which Japan agreed to host United States military bases. Nine years later a revised version of this treaty further formalising the arrangement between the two nations was negotiated by Japanese prime minister Kishi Nobusuke (the grandfather of future prime minister Abe Shinzo) and President Eisenhower.
My Favourite
Tony Fomison: No!
Dad was always the arty one.
We didn’t think of it as art, growing up. We just thought of it as him having strong opinions about what looked and sounded good. Music, especially. After school finished each day, he’d crank up the stereo and our home would hum with blues and rock from the 1960s and early 1970s. Cream and the original Fleetwood Mac were forever fighting the drone of the kitchen extractor fan.
Commentary
Disruptive Landscapes
Disruptive Landscapes: Contemporary Art from Japan includes moving-image works that examine our relationships to the land, whether historical, mythological or contemporary. They reveal how landscapes at once reflect our imagination and endorse national identity and societal structures. Landscapes are the aestheticised and mediated form of our natural surroundings, encoded with politics, cultural memories and belief systems; through distinct framing and composition they assert certain politics and mindsets, such as the notion of an untouched, unoccupied land, or the ideal ecosystem for a site.
Commentary
Morris Dancing in the Modelling Room
Arriving in Ōtautahi Christchurch must have been like arriving on another planet for Francis Shurrock. It was 1924, and he had travelled half-way around the world from England to take up a position as modelling and art craft master at the Canterbury College School of Art. Indeed, one of his pupils there, Juliet Peter, later described him as an “alien”, for the fresh approach to teaching that made him stand out from other teachers at the school. Nevertheless, Shurrock made Ōtautahi his home and never returned to England.
Notes
Venice Biennale 2026 Announcement
We are delighted to finally be able to publicly share the very exciting news that the Gallery has been selected as the delivery partner for Aotearoa New Zealand’s exhibition at the 2026 Venice Biennale.
Notes
Creative New Zealand announces La Biennale di Venezia artist and partnership with Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū
Esteemed artist Fiona Pardington MNZM (Kāi Tahu, Kāti Mamoe, Ngāti Kahungunu, Clan Cameron of Erracht) will represent New Zealand at La Biennale di Venezia in 2026.
Interview
Practice, Poetry and Precision
Artist Yona Lee has been preparing something very special in her Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland studio – a new commission that honours the history of the Gallery building, Te Puna o Waiwhetū. Lee took some time away from her workbench to speak with lead curator Felicity Milburn about her dream of filling the under-stairs space with water and light.
Commentary
Opening the Archives
Amongst the regular books, artist books and rare books, the Robert and Barbara Stewart Library and Archives also contains a treasure-trove of letters, diaries, photographs, newspaper cuttings, videos and more. These fascinating objects shine a light on the lives and careers of many of the artists in our collection, telling us how they developed their works, how they related to their contemporaries, even where they went on their holidays. They are used a good deal by curators and researchers – and you can see some of them in our current exhibitions He Kapuka Oneone and One O’Clock Jump – but they usually live well out of sight.
Interview
Down the Waitaki Awa
Pouarataki curator Māori Chloe Cull talks with artist and designer Ross Hemera (Waitaha, Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Māmoe) about his life and work.