City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi will continue to bring two significant exhibitions to Wellington this year despite disruptive construction work temporarily forcing it out of its iconic building in Te Ngākau Civic Square.

Wheako Pōneke Experience Wellington Tumu Whakarae Chief Executive Diana Marsh says her team has worked incredibly hard alongside partner institutions Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and The Dowse Art Museum to secure alternative spaces to show two key exhibitions planned for 2024, after learning in March that the main access from Victoria Street into Te Ngākau would close from June this year as Wellington City Council begins demolition on the Civic Administration Building.

“Foot traffic to Te Ngākau Civic Square is expected to drop dramatically as a result of the closure, along with increased noise and disruption from the demolition. We are absolutely delighted to have found a way to navigate these challenges to continue to bring a major New Zealand collection exhibition and a body of work of international significance to the people of Te Upoko o Te Ika a Maui this year. We are very grateful to our arts whānau across Wellington who have come together to support us and work with us at an incredible pace to make this happen.

“City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi is well-respected not only in Wellington, but across Aotearoa and internationally as a dynamic cultural presence in our capital city, showcasing contemporary art from New Zealand and around the world. These multi-partner opportunities will take us into new spaces and put us in front of new audiences so we can continue to play an important role as a place of discussion in the heart of the city and beyond.”

Current exhibitions will continue to show at City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi until 30 June.

City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi will show Generation X: 50 Artworks from the Chartwell Collection at Te Papa from 27 July to 20 October 2024. This big, noisy group show features contemporary art made by Gen X artists with works drawn from one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most significant contemporary art collections, The Chartwell Collection, itself a member of Gen X. Chartwell celebrates its 50th anniversary this year and the works in this celebratory show burn brightly like candles on a birthday cake. The show will be supported by the Chartwell Trust and Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki.

City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi in collaboration with Gus Fisher Gallery will show Derek Jarman: Delphinium Days, the first exhibition of the work of internationally-renowned UK artist and gay rights activist Derek Jarman in Aotearoa, at The Dowse from 28 September 2024 to 26 January 2025. The exhibition will feature some of Jarman’s most influential works including paintings and films, alongside a suite of photographs that focus on his iconic Prospect Cottage and garden. The show has been funded with the lead support of Tony Kerridge and Micheal Do, with additional support of City Gallery Wellington Foundation, The University of Auckland Foundation, the Delphinium Days Exhibition Circle and the British Council. With thanks to the Keith Collins Will Trust and Amanda Wilkinson, London.

City Gallery has a long history of collaboration with Te Papa and The Dowse. As a non-collecting gallery this includes loaning work from both institutions, as well as partnering on projects and curatorial collaborations over the past decade, including a number of recent projects with The Dowse. “This is an opportunity to deepen and strengthen these strong relationships which strengthen the arts sector across the region”, says Diana Marsh.

“City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi has been in Te Ngākau for 30 years, but we are much more than the building. As Council’s Arts and Heritage organisation we will continue to find ways to do what we do best – offer exhibitions with an edge to test art’s boundaries, challenge our audiences and invite debate. “We hold an important place in so many people’s hearts and we’ll be working on growing our visitor numbers and opportunities for our audiences to support and champion the gallery while it’s away from home so we can return to a much-improved, future-proofed building in 2026. This includes working with others to rehouse exhibitions planned for the rest of this year and into 2025. We might be leaving the building temporarily, but we will continue to bring art to Wellington.”

Media contact
Ravithri de Silva
Kaiārahi Whakapā | Communications Manager
Wheako Pōneke Experience Wellington

M: +64 021 280 1186
E: [email protected]closeView thumbnails