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Te Pūkenga Whakaata
 

OPEN DAILY: 10:00am – 4:30pm
Except Christmas Day and Good Friday

FREE ENTRY
Shed 11, 60 Lady Elizabeth Lane
Wellington Waterfront 6011

 
Exhibitions
Julia B. Lynch: A Dedicated Life
Jun 19
Julia B. Lynch: A Dedicated Life

This exhibition will focus on three aspects of Lynch’s artistic career: portraits painted for competitions (for instance she entered the famous Australian Archibald Portrait Prize four times), controversial portraits (her portrait of Mayor Percy Dowse, Lower Hutt was taken down at the Dowse but in 1984 the director was told to reinstate it against his dislike for it) and portraits of her students, of which there are many.

Image: Julia Lynch, Self-portrait, c.1924, private collection.

Me: Artists Paint Themselves
Aug 28
Me: Artists Paint Themselves

Delving into the complicated multiplicities of self-perception and identity, this exhibition presents a selection of innovative painted self-portraits by modern and contemporary artists from Aotearoa New Zealand.

Image: Sacha Lees, Sometimes an Outline Coloured In, 2020. Collection New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pūkenga Whakaata, winner of the Adam Portraiture Award 2020.

Fell into me: Hannah Ireland
Sep 18
Fell into me: Hannah Ireland

Hannah Ireland, a Tāmaki Makaurau-based artist of Ngāti Hine and Ngāpuhi descent, paints portraits in the broadest, loosest sense, capturing the essence of faces and emotions. Her paintings feature faces that appear distorted, as if pressed against the glass plate of a photocopier. 

Curated by Jaenine Parkinson

Image: Hannah Ireland, Clock Work, 2023, watercolour and acrylic on found window

Reclaimed Land: Tāngata, Tiriti, Taiao
Nov 21
Reclaimed Land: Tāngata, Tiriti, Taiao

Drawing together work by contemporary artists, Reclaimed Land: Tāngata, Tiriti, Taiao presents a portrait of the earth told through personal, ancestral and collective relationships between he tāngata and te taiao. These artists take action for nature, and tell stories of collective futures. Their works reclaim the land, reminding us that to tend to the land is to tend to ourselves.

Curated by Israel Randell and Susan Ballard 

Image: Tia Ranginui, Ka Hapai te Rama, 2023. Courtesy of the artist and Laree Payne Gallery.  

Public Programmes
Whānau Day!
Sep 20
Whānau Day!

Kick off the school holidays with a bang!
Join us for a fun-filled family day inspired by our exhibition Me: Artists Paint Themselves.

Get creative with hands-on activities like collage, painting, and drawing as we explore poses, emotions, and colour. You’ll get to make your own unique artwork to take home!

And don’t miss the FREE face painting (10am-12pm) – what or who could you become!?

Monthly Life Drawing
Sep 27
Monthly Life Drawing

Have a go at portraiture in a relaxed setting with our koha monthly life drawing sessions.

 
Touring Exhibitions
Kiingi Tuheitia Portraiture Award 2025 - Te Whare Taonga o Waikato Museum & Gallery
Sep 12
Te Whare Taonga o Waikato Museum & Gallery
Kiingi Tuheitia Portraiture Award 2025 - Te Whare Taonga o Waikato Museum & Gallery
Te Whare Taonga o Waikato Museum & Gallery

The Kiingi Tuheitia Portraiture Award is a competition that encourages young Maaori artists to create portraits of their tupuna (ancestors) in any medium. The 2025 finalists’ exhibition will be touring to multiple venues around the motu.

Image: Ashley Tutaki, Back to the Source, Photography (finalist)

Te Whare Taonga o Waikato Museum & Gallery