The Gallery runs a programme of regular and special events, often related to the exhibitions throughout the year.
Most events are free of charge and open to all ages unless otherwise indicated.
In partnership with Dementia Wellington and supported by Creative Communities Scheme join us for this inclusive and flexible program designed for people living with dementia. Sessions are free but booking is required.
For this month’s koha life drawing session, our model will take on the role of a painter, posing with an easel and artist’s materials. Arrive early to get a seat and set up.
Image: Beverley Shore Bennett, Self Remembering Betty Rhind & F.V Ellis, 1983. Oil on board. Collection of the New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pūkenga Whakaata. Gift of the artist Beverley Shore Bennett
Join us in the Gallery for an afternoon of live portrait painting with Adam Portraiture Award finalist Daniel Phillips. Daniel will be painting original portraits which you can take home for a koha. Portraits will be offered on a first‑come, first‑served basis.
Image: Daniel Phillips, Self Portrait - Seat F plane to Auckland, 2025. Acrylic paints and paint pens. Cropped.
Join us for a kōrero with three of this years Te Whanganui-a-Tara based Adam Portraiture Award finalists: Sacha Lees, Benjamin Dellabarca and Emma Hercus.
Image: Sacha Lee, Benjamin Dellabarca and Emma Hercus. Images supplied.
Join us for this month’s koha life drawing session, where we’ll acknowledge the rising of Matariki and Puanga and take influence from the whetū in our drawing.
Image: Folio of drawings by Alan Pearson. Collection New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pūkenga Whakaata.
Join 2026 Adam Portraiture Award finalist and miniature nail artist Emma Mitchell for a session on the art of painting portraits on press-on nails. This is a ticketed event with limited capacity.
Image: Emma Mitchell, Face value, 2026. Gel nail polish.
Join Stephen Lawrie in conversation with New Zealand Portrait Gallery Director Brian Wood as they discuss his artistic practice, what it means to be an artist working in Alaska, and share insights into life in the far north.
Image: Stephen Lawrie, Fishermen - The painter and his sons, 2026. Oil on unstretched canvas.
Join us for this month’s koha life drawing session as we mark the shift into winter.
Image: Stephen Martyn Welch, 3 Nights, a Mirror & Loads of Coffee, 2011. Oil on canvas.
Join us for an audio described tour of this years Adam Portrait Award. Session is free but booking is required.
Image: Stephen Lawrie, Fishermen - The painter and his sons, 2026. Oil on unstretched canvas.
Join us for this month’s themed life drawing session, inspired by those Adam Portraiture Award 2026 finalists whose sitters are enjoying a good book!
Image: Tony Guo, Xin reading a book, 2025. Oil on linen. Cropped.
Join us for a talk from only connect: Portraits by Joanna Margaret Paul and Janet Elaine Paul curator Helen Kedgley.
Join us on the opening day of the 2026 Adam Portraiture Award for a talk from this year’s guest judge, Sydney-based artist Jude Rae.
In partnership with Dementia Wellington and supported by Creative Communities Scheme join us for this inclusive and flexible program designed for people living with dementia. Sessions are free but booking is required.
Join The Handmade Darkroom for a workshop where they will guide you through using tea-toned cyanotypes and visible mending to create a fabric-collage notebook cover.
Images provided by The Handmade Darkroom
Join us for this month’s themed life drawing session, drawing inspiration from Salome: An Angel of History. Our model for the session, Maysie Pyatt, will be dressed in period costume.
Have a go at portraiture in a relaxed setting with our koha monthly life drawing sessions.
Have a go at portraiture in a relaxed setting with our koha monthly life drawing sessions.
Join Dr April K. Henderson, Dr Peter Brunt and Yuki Kihara in conversation, facilitated by exhibition curator Jaenine Parkinson.
Images: Yuki Kihara by Ralph Brown. April Henderson, Peter Brunt and Jaenine Parkinson image supplied.
Playing up the laughs in A Horse Walks Into A Bar: Humour and Portraiture in Aotearoa, join us for an (early) night of stand-up comedy, featuring local comics James Nokise, Mike Fowler, and Samantha Hannah.
Join Yuki Kihara and Jaenine Parkinson in conversation on the opening day of Salome: An Angel of History.
Image: Yuki Kihara by Ralph Brown and Jaenine Parkinson image supplied.
Have a go at portraiture in a relaxed setting with our koha monthly life drawing sessions.
Join Reclaimed Land: Tāngata, Tiriti, Tiao co-curator Israel Randell in conversation with some of the exhibitions artists.
Image: Matt Tini, Sitters I, 2022. Ngā Puhipuhi o Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington Art Collection, Courtesy the Parkin New Art Prize, 2024.
Join Predator Free Wellington for a Trapping Tunnel Building Workshop.
Have a go at portraiture in a relaxed setting with our koha monthly life drawing sessions.
Join us for a conversation between Reclaimed Land: Tāngata, Tiriti, Taiao curators Israel Randell and Susan Ballard.
Join artist Nicola Jackson for a masterclass exploring techniques and influences in her approach to portraiture. Nicola uses paper mâché, anatomical illustrations and vibrant colours to create unique and identifiable works.
Image: Nicola Jackson, Exposure, 2016, Courtesy of the artist.
Have a go at portraiture in a relaxed setting with our koha monthly life drawing sessions.
Join us for a conversation between Me: Artists Paint Themselves curators’ Maddie Brooks Gillespie and Jaenine Parkinson.
Footnote New Zealand Dance bring their site-specific gallery performance series to the New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pūkenga Whakaata. Come engage with the Gallery in a new way, encountering the dancers throughout the space as they respond to the current exhibition Me: Artists Paint Themselves.
Image: Watch This Space McCleavey Gallery x Cuba Dupa, provided by Footnote New Zealand Dance.
Have a go at portraiture in a relaxed setting with our koha monthly life drawing sessions.
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!?
Have you ever wondered what daily life might have looked like for Sister Lawrence (Julia B. Lynch)? Or the difference between a sister and a nun? Or how the lives of women within the Sisters of Mercy have evolved from the 1900s to today? Join Sister Natalie as she shares stories and insights into the life of a sister and helps us envision what an average day may have been like for Julia B. Lynch—Sister Lawrence.
Image: Julia Lynch, Self-portrait, c.1924, private collection.
