Presented by Principal Partner Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, Aotearoa Contemporary offers a platform for new art and ideas in Aotearoa New Zealand. The partnership will mark the first time an iwi has funded a nationwide contemporary art exhibition.

Set to occur every three years at the Gallery, Aotearoa Contemporary will cultivate a new generation of artistic voices, providing a showcase for what is new and current in Aotearoa New Zealand’s diverse cultural environment with its dynamic history of contemporary art.

Featuring twenty-seven artists and twenty-two new compelling projects, the exhibition includes a range of different mediums and art practices such as painting, textiles, sculpture, ceramics, photography and a programme of choreographed performances. The commissioned works include a three-channel video by Qianye and Qianhe Lin centred on mythology and set in Hailing Island off the coast of China and Aotearoa, and performances by Pelenakeke Brown (Is this a performance 1+2); Xin Ji (Doco Dance); Amit Noy (Errant); and Jahra Wasasala (DRA).

With an emphasis on emerging and less visible practitioners, the focus is on artistic breadth and art’s role in this country in responding to and generating new creative ideas and forms. Aotearoa Contemporary has been scheduled to coincide with New Zealand’s leading contemporary art award, The Walters Prize 2024, to provide a broad overview of contemporary art in New Zealand in the Gallery’s winter programme.

The exhibition has been curated by Cameron Ah Loo-Matamua, Natasha Conland and Ane Tonga with support from Ruth Ha. It is proudly supported by The Chartwell Trust, the Auckland Art Gallery Foundation and a consortium of individual donors.

Entry to the exhibition is free.