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.
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 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 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 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 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.
