This April, Auckland’s Viaduct Harbour will host a significant new cultural initiative—the Aotearoa Art Fair Sculpture Trail—a curated outdoor exhibition of large-scale works by leading contemporary artists from across Aotearoa. Running from 16 April to 14 May 2025, the public trail offers a rare opportunity to experience world-class sculpture in an open-air setting, thoughtfully placed throughout one of the city’s most iconic waterfront precincts.

Presented by Viaduct Harbour Holdings Ltd, in partnership with Aotearoa Art Fair and with support from Tātaki Auckland Unlimited, Auckland Council, and Perpetual Guardian Sculpture on the Gulf, the Sculpture Trail reflects Viaduct Harbour’s long-term commitment
to championing arts and culture in public space. By supporting this ambitious project, Viaduct Harbour is helping to strengthen the city’s cultural fabric, transforming one of the city’s most recognisable precincts into a vibrant setting for contemporary art and encouraging broader public engagement with the creative sector.

“Viaduct Harbour is proud to support the Aotearoa Art Fair Sculpture Trail, bringing world-class art to Auckland’s pre-eminent waterfront destination,” says Celeste Labana-Clayton, Head of Marketing & Brand at Viaduct Harbour.

“Celebrating the arts is integral to Viaduct Harbour, and this initiative reflects our ongoing belief that great cities are shaped by their cultural experiences. As a place where culture and connection thrive, we’re honoured to showcase extraordinary works by artists from across Aotearoa in a setting that represents the energy, creativity, and vibrancy of our city.

An initiative of the Aotearoa Art Fair, the Sculpture Trail expands the Fair’s reach beyond its four-day programme (1- 4 May), transforming Auckland’s waterfront into a living gallery and bridging the Fair’s commercial hub at the Viaduct Events Centre with the wider public offering a deeper, more accessible encounter with contemporary art for city locals, tourists, families and the art-curious.

“Our vision for the Aotearoa Art Fair has always extended beyond the walls of the main event,” says Sue Waymouth, Fair Director of Aotearoa Art Fair. “While the Fair serves as a vital commercial event for galleries and artists, we’re equally committed to building cultural experiences that engage the wider public. The Sculpture Trail—made possible through the generous support of Viaduct Harbour—reflects that ambition. It’s about breaking down barriers to art and creating opportunities for all Aucklanders and visitors to experience the richness of contemporary practice in their everyday surroundings.”

The trail features newly commissioned work from leading artists such as David McCracken, Anton Forde, Gregor Kregar, Oliver Stretton-Pow and Ben Pearce. With the support of Perpetual Guardian Sculpture on the Gulf, key work by Lonnie Hutchinson, Seung Yul Oh and a new work by Tongan artist Sēmesi Fetokai Potauaine showcasing the strength and diversity of contemporary practice in Aotearoa.

The arrival of a floating artwork by internationally acclaimed artist Lisa Reihana is a major moment on the inaugural Aotearoa Art Fair Sculpture Trail, presented by Viaduct Harbour.

With the support of Auckland Council, the city centre targeted rate, and Gallery Sally Dan-Cuthbert, Reihana’s celebrated sculpture Te Wheke-a-Muturangi comes to the waters of Tāmaki Makaurau for the first time. A revered multi-disciplinary artist whose work has been presented at the Venice Biennale and exhibited widely across Australia, Singapore—Reihana’s contribution anchors the trail with powerful storytelling drawn from Māori cosmology.

Part of Reihana’s Kura Moana Series, the majestic 15-metre wide floating cephalopoda draws from the powerful Māori myth of the giant female octopus Te-Wheke-a-Muturangi, who is pursued across the Pacific and ultimately slain by the legendary Polynesian navigator,
Kupe. She is hand-painted in maze-like lines inspired by Reihana’s contemporary Māori weaving patterns, the vivid reds symbolising the blood spilled when the creature was defeated. This mesmerising installation invites audiences to reflect on ancient stories beneath the surface of the ocean, animated by light, movement and memory. Visitors can scan an on-site QR code to listen to the full story of Te Wheke’s epic journey. The installation is best viewed from Graham Tipene’s Te Mata Topaki lookout, one of the existing permanent artworks in the precinct. Alongside the nine main works installed across Viaduct Harbour from 16 April, two additional sculptures by Brett Graham and Professor Robert Jahnke will be installed at the entrance to the Aotearoa Art Fair during its core dates (30 April – 4 May), further connecting the indoor fair experience with the city’s public space.

From monumental forms to intimate gestures, the trail of nine artworks invites all—locals, families, tourists, and the art-curious—to experience sculpture in a new dimension: free, open-air, and beautifully integrated into the landscape of this prized waterfront precinct. This is the first curated outdoor sculpture trail in Auckland’s city centre in recent times, further illustrating Viaduct Harbour’s long-term commitment to arts, culture, and public placemaking.