Galleries Galore

One of the jewels in Wellington’s art crown is City Gallery in Civic Square, which offers a programme of contemporary visual arts, architecture and design. Located in the heart of Civic Square, City Gallery Wellington offers world-class exhibitions of contemporary New Zealand and international art.

City Gallery Wellington provides visitors with sometimes challenging, always captivating art from some of the world’s most exciting artists. With specific galleries dedicated to Wellington artists, Maori and Pacific arts, and future programmes dedicated to the Wellington City art collection, as well as extensive education and public programmes, City Gallery Wellington enables diverse audiences to experience art in new and inspiring ways.

City Gallery Wellington is a dynamic cultural presence in the capital city of Aotearoa New Zealand. Whether it’s the latest exhibition of New Zealand’s avant-garde artists, an international collection visiting the gallery or just the gallery’s renowned café Nikau, there are plenty of reasons to put Wellington’s eyes-and-ears-on-the-arts on your schedule.

Featherston and Victoria Streets have a great collection of boutique dealer galleries, while you’ll find something more edgy in the Cuba Street precinct.

A short trip out of town is the cutting edge Dowse Art Museum in Lower Hutt and PATAKA in Porirua is a must if you’re keen to look at Maori, Pacific Island and New Zealand art. Having undergone an extensive six million dollar makeover by Athfield Architects in 2006, The Dowse Art Museum has been re-born as a cultural hub, with an eclectic display that includes fashion, jewellery, multi-media vignettes and finely-crafted ceramics.

Throughout the gallery are a series of visual 'snacks' that change every 6-8 weeks and a sprinkling of creative posts for visitors to roll up their sleeves and reach within to find their inner-artist.

As well as housing over 300 pieces, the gallery contains a destination cafe and gallery shop, an outdoor courtyard, conference facilities and a creative workshop specially designed for hands-on classes and programmes.

Open seven days a week, 10am-5pm.