Pōneke Portals is a group show featuring a series of installations inspired by portals. Rather than transporting visitors to another place or time, these portals resist the pull of elsewhere, returning attention to the here and now. The installations invite relationality with more-than-human worlds and counter-colonial ways of seeing. Each portal-based work becomes an opening—amplifying encounters in the present moment while acknowledging the past and possible futures of Pōneke and its surrounding lands.
ARTISTS
Featuring works by Lu Li, Daniel Coombes, Leandro Lopez, and Shannon Xiao in collaboration with Irihāpeti Hokianga Te Aho, Te Motu Kairangi, Native Land Digital, Posthuman Nexus, & Temporary Show.
CONTACT
Lu Li: Instagram @luli_lilu
Daniel Coombes: danregcoombes@gmail.com
Leandro Lopez: LinkedIn
Shannon Xiao: shannonxiao@temporaryshow.com
Images:
Lu Li
Daniel Coombes
Leandro Lopez
Shannon Xiao
The Creative Itch's week of arty adventures & Sparkle Debacle Events! Celebrating Wellington communities and exploring the creative beings we ALL are.
10am-5pm Daily: Check out the evolving exhibition, meet the artists, see the creative process in action, and have a creative crack in the ‘Creative Brewings’ space.
EVENTS
Arty Farty Closing Celebration Party
Sunday 13 April, 2 - 4pm
Come for a celebratory drink, nibble and WHOOP at Wellington’s ‘Walls of Wonder/ful’ developed over the week!
WORKSHOPS
To book: message @the.creative.itch.collective or email: the.creative.itch.collective@gmail.com
Activities are FREE, koha appreciated
Glitter Bomb Collage
Wednesday, 5pm - 6.30pm
Bond with buddies (old or shiny-just-met new) over a pile of magazines, chop and glue to your imaginations content.
Pillow Talk
Thursday, 6pm - 8pm
Art on Pillowcases - Exploring the complexity, beauty, joy and pain of childbirth and supporting families through.
Figure Drawing -Drag 'n 'Drop
Friday, 7 - 9pm
This workshop celebrates clothed figure drawing, diversity and creative expression.
CONTACT
Instagram: @the.creative.itch.collective
Email: the.creative.itch.collective@gmail.com
If you find yourself on Cuba Street on a Friday night and spot a pack of photographers poking their lenses into shop windows, it means one of two things: either Taylor Swift has added Wellington to her latest tour and the paparazzi have turned up; or the Wellington Lens Club is on their fortnightly photo walk in the CBD.
The WLC has an unusual history. It was launched nearly two years ago by vintage lens collector and restorer Benni Krueger as “The Vintage Lens Club.” But what was meant to be a small regional group quickly drew nearly 40,000 members in more than 20 countries. A new group for locals only was spun off, and they’ve been roaming the streets of the city ever since. While the WLC is a private group, membership is open to photographers at every level so long as they live in or regularly spend time in the Wellington area. See Wellington Lens Club Meetups on Facebook.
For this exhibition, entitled Our City, all the photos in the show were captured within a few blocks of the venue, and the project is meant to be a love letter to the city that the members call home.
While the exhibiting photographers use all manner of cameras and lenses, the group encourages the use of older and experimental glass, not all of which was designed for still photography. Some of the photos in the exhibition were shot with lenses originally designed for vintage cinema projectors, x-ray machines, aerial reconnaissance and even military tanks.
The WLC’s mission is to capture the capital's diversity and dynamism, its daily life and its vibrant culture. Each photographer will be showcasing their own unique approach and perspective, and this will be reflected in the variety of images on show.
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Benni Kruger, Mick Brady, Judith Dickson, John Kelly, Jon Kroll, Nico Li, Lola Makower, Ryan Owens, Kevin Peng, Emi Reed, Joshua Schönberger, Jeff Mein Smith, Rob Vanderpoel
Those with interest in the event are encouraged to follow the club’s Instagram account. Photos by the exhibiting photographers will be posted in the days leading up to the exhibition.
CONTACT
Instagram: @wellingtonlensclub
Facebook: Wellington Lens Club Meetups
Images:
Poster image - Jon Kroll
Jeff Mein Smith, Mazda Girls
Joshua Schönberger, Self Portrait - the Unknown Outsider
Woe Plush Be Upon Ye! is a surreal collision of the internet meme landscape and the gallery space; a fun display of mixed media artworks by twelve local and international artists that aims to celebrate internet pop culture through one viral anime plush toy.
ARTISTS
AR-EM BAÑAS, JOAQUIN BELISARIO, JUSTIN CHEUNG, SARA FERNÁNDEZ, BECKY HADLOW, EVA HU, CICI LI, SKYE LIU TIANZI, MAYA LOUW, EMILY SELFE, DAYOON SONG, OSCAR VAN HEST
WORKSHOP
Still Life Drawing Session
Saturday 29 March, 1pm
FREE ENTRY
CONTACT
Instagram: @woeplushbeuponye
Facebook: Woe, Plush Be Upon Ye
Tumblr: woeplushbeuponye
Daniel Phillips is a 51-year-old artist based in Lower Hutt, Wellington.
Daniel is a person with ASD (autism spectrum disorder) living his best life as a hugely prolific independent artist. When asked why he loves to make art so much his reaction is “art makes me happy!”
Daniel has been a practicing artist for many years, his distinctive style has won him critical acclaim in the Wellington region and beyond.
Daniel has a particular love of travel and visually records his weekends spent on planes, buses, trains, ferries and cable cars. He knows exactly the times and numbers of the modes of transport he uses. He loves to save money from the sale of his art to go on big journeys like ship cruises and flights to Europe to travel on every type of transport he can.
Daniel also loves portraits and will be creating some on opening night.
CONTACT
Website: mix.org.nz
Instagram: @mixconnectcreatelive
Facebook: MIX
#MentalHealth #AutisticArtist #ArtTherapy
Images
Front Face / Side Faces
Plane Up North
Two Happiest Faces
Come discover an array of creations encompassing paintings, textiles and ceramics. Our goal is simple: to create moments of joy, and opportunities for smiles, with each piece telling a story of passion and playfulness.
Charlotte Hird, Watercolour artist
I am an observational artist and my style is contemporary realism with a stark graphic quality. The creation of clear, transparent washes glowing with a crisp freshness brings me great personal satisfaction. No other medium can achieve that luminous quality.
The body of work on show reflects the shapes of nature’s from landscapes, flowers and creatures. My landforms portray dark brooding valleys and clean ridges glowing in the light.
I find inspiration from all parts of my life and in the beauty of nature. My teaching, both here and in Japan, is an integral part of the continuing journey of learning, improving techniques and exploring themes. All these challenges sustain me in my life as an artist.
CONTACT
Website: www.charlotteswebdesign.co.nz
Email: charhird@gmail.com
Judith Ewens-Belin (Judith B. Ceramics)
I am a french maker located in Te Whanganui a Tara (Aotearoa, NZ)
My work is rooted in a slow and curious approach to life. I craft objects that give people an opportunity to pause and appreciate the moment, but also bring a sense of connection: to ourselves, to others, and to our environment.
I predominantly make things with clay, and usually work in small series, letting my creative energies guide me from one project to another. Although I may sometimes re-visit some past-designs, they will almost always end up being slightly different than the original.
I typically create functional pieces with a quirky and playful element, whether through design, colour, texture, or use of materials.
CONTACT
Website: www.judith-b.com
Instagram: @judith_b_ceramics
Lilly Rhind
My art practice is driven by the joy of creation.
Since childhood, I’ve seen art as the best form of play and self expression, using bold shapes and vibrant colours to try to evoke that same sense of fun
Primarily figurative, my work often focuses on the human form and face.
I enjoy experimenting with various mediums, including painting, printmaking, sculpture and jewellery.
Website: lillyrhind.wixsite.com
Michele Irving
Sewing with colourful fabrics, embroidery and applique, Michele creates a dream world of animals who play and celebrate life!
She also designs a range of fun greeting cards featuring her playful animals.
Michele works from a studio at her home and sells her work through various galleries and shops.
Stephanie Cossens
I am a visual artist who graduated with a Bachelor of Visual Arts, First Class Honours, from the Dunedin School of Art in 2016. Since then, I have been based in Wellington, where I continue to develop my practice. My work primarily revolves around soft sculpture, ceramics, and costume design, and I find joy in combining textures and exploring the tactile qualities of handmade objects.
Each piece I create is an opportunity to experiment with materials, blending form and function in unexpected ways. My process is deeply rooted in a love for craftsmanship and the exploration of how objects can evoke emotion and narrative. I am fascinated by the relationships between surface, structure, and touch.
Throughout my career, I have been a finalist in the World of Wearable Art competition three times, which has further solidified my passion for pushing the boundaries of art and design. I continue to seek new ways to express myself through the intersection of art, craft, and wearable sculpture.
Instagram: @handsutured
Stephanie Hall
As a potter I like to explore the many different aspects of clay and different ways of working. I create functional pieces on the wheel that I carve into to explore the play of the glaze on different textures and surface. I slab build houses and Raku fire them in my back garden – this method of firing never fails to create something unexpected but beautiful which is a process that I very much enjoy. Most of all I like to create pieces that will make people smile and hint at a hidden worlds such as my new series of hand-built cats in fancy dresses.
PhotoChop, not Photoshop!
For the last 20 years PhotoChop has showcased artists who reinterpret physical ephemera to celebrate the absurd and unpredictable in the human hand and eye. No Photoshop. Cut and paste by scissors and glue. In collecting and combining mass media images a new visual is created: relevant, ridiculous and anarchic.
ARTISTS
Markus McIntyre, Vanessa Crowe, Curtis Nixon, Aidan McMurray, Sam Eva, Emily Benefield, David Morah, Helena, Don Smith, Anna Venture, Tony Rush, Claire Harris, Billy T Jitters, Menno Huibers, Jpoch
Pablos Art Studios Inc Collage-O-Rama workshop participants: Mokena Hokianga, Meta Assink, Francis Tunicliff, Yon Yi Sohn, Ya Wen Ho, Glenna Lee, Phoebe Gray
Pasted in Pātea Monthly Kai and Collage participants: Ruby Nek, Sam Stephens, Diane Burley, Tammy Teika, Wiremu Newbold, Kelly Baldwin, Billie Burley prentice, Yasmine Inns, jack Tamakehu, Beck White, MB Stoneman, Rob Groat
Collages in PhotoChop are original art works priced from $5 to $100. Anyone can leave the exhibition with an affordable artwork. Stay and make your own PhotoChop at our collage workshop table, or add to an exquisite corpse collage.
With live music cut ups from DJ Tangent.
Part of 2025 NZ Fringe Festival
Nine Lives, A Thousand Details: A Feline Atlas brings together Rae Huang's intricate ink drawings and vibrant embroidery works, creating a whimsical journey through feline-centered worlds. In the artist's detailed drawings, cats take on human-like qualities – they work, dream, celebrate, and go about daily life in elaborately crafted scenes. Each composition reveals a rich narrative where cats become the storytellers of modern life, blending imagination with familiar situations in unexpected ways.
The exhibition's embroidery pieces, inspired by the artist's Tokyo residency in July 2023, capture intimate city moments through the lens of the strawberry cat – a symbol of Taiwan's Generation Y. These colorful works follow the artist's self-reflective journey through urban spaces: a cat contemplating life from a Tokyo apartment window, wandering through bustling streets, or finding quiet moments in city corners.
The artist will be drawing on-site during the weekend. Visitors are invited to witness the artist's creative process during weekend drawing sessions.
CONTACT
Website: rueithefoxx.cargo.site
Email: Rae Huang at partoftheszene@gmail.com
PUNAKA is a collaborative installation between 11 artists of varied backgrounds. The work explores an embodied approach to practices of communion and collaboration. Through the interweaving of diverse knowledge systems and personal histories, a transient and nurturing place is formed. This place is what we call ‘Punaka’. It reflects on the ways we gather, build, and sustain each other through collective acts of making.
Join us at for opening night on Monday 17 Febuary from 5.30pm. Funded by WCC Creative Communites Scheme
ARTISTS
Olivia Fergerson, Amanda Smith, Thomas Strawbridge, Ocean Alleman, Merryn Thompson, Clara Bosshard, Oliver Raikawa, Oliver Budd, AJ Manaaki Hope, Andrew Morris, Jason Fastier
CONTACT
Instagram @punaka_collective
A Lonely Place Facing The Sun presents moving image installation works by Amber-Jayne Bain, as the realisation of a two year Master of Fine Arts degree at Massey University.
‘Family folklore can warp and change with the telling’ - Marie-Jean Mills
This exhibition is an exploration of memory, isolation, domestic repetition and the juxtaposition of moving and still photographic imagery. Immersive and visual, it brings past and present together, and offers a response to the plurality of memory enacted through stories inherited from my mother, Marie-Jean, about her childhood on Waitai, Rangitoto ki te Tonga, D’Urville Island. The work draws upon an abundant trove of colonial settler female experiences recorded by my matriarchal line, and incorporates my own memories of a similar family place, Waitui, in the outermost tip of the Marborough Sounds.
EVENT
Artist talk
Saturday 15 February, 1pm
CONTACT
Website: ajbain.com
Email: aj@ajbain.com
Instagram: @amber_jayne_bain
#MovingStills #ArtAndMemory #InstallationArtist
A collection of work by ten Masters of Architecture students from the Wellington School of Architecture. From drawings, to models, to collages, and more, In the Making showcases a range of approaches to the making of architecture.
Bo Amoafo, Tom Arbuckle, Callum Campbell, Emelie Clarke, Logan Cooper, Harriet Cobham, Harry Coxhead-Whyte, Jordan Knight, Rebecca Kneale, Ellen O'Malley.
CLOSING EVENT
Saturday 8 February, 6pm
CONTACT
Instagram: @not.for.construction
Image credits:
Callum Campbell
Tom Arbuckle
Harriet Cobham
Harry Coxhead-Whyte
What matters to first-time mothers? This exhibit will showcase bold multimedia work by new mothers. It presents cutting-edge research on motherhood, storytelling, and care. “It takes a village”, but what does that look like? Visitors are invited to contribute to a collage that represents our vision of collective caretaking.
Open to everyone, including babies and children.
EVENT
Play morning and parent coffee
Thursday 30 January, 9am - 12pm
#TheMotheringVillage #MaternalWellBeing
Fragile Foundations is a photographic exhibition that brings into focus the earthquake-prone buildings of Wellington—a city that knows the ground beneath it can shift at any moment. Part visual critique of the negligence that postpones essential upkeep, part social commentary on the changing nature of building codes and political risk appetites, this exhibition documents a period of time characterised equally by inertia and change.
The buildings featured in this exhibition are a part of our daily urban landscape, chosen for their personal, aesthetic, historical and architectural significance. Captured on medium format film with a Mamiya 645, these monochrome images are hand-developed, reflecting the enduring yet vulnerable nature of our city. Following the traditions of both documentary and architectural photography, the black and white images highlight the strength and beauty of these buildings—the textures, the lines, the way they stand against the times, each with its story of resilience and risk.
CONTACT
Instagram: fragile_foundations
Images
Antony Kitchener, Adelaide Hotel
Poster Image, Antony Kitchener, Education House
During lockdown I started a project called Inksolation. I'd generate a prompt using a random word generator and create an artwork inspired by that word. What came out was an incredible body of work; often hilarious, usually whackadoo. My pals ended up eagerly awaiting the next one too and creativity became a great balm against the lockdown depression. It gave me a sense of purpose, something to focus on, and made people laugh.
Skip forward four years and I'm at another division in my life, having been made redundant May 2024. While this is a completely different landscape to that of lockdown, I've found myself teetering along a similar crevasse; feeling adrift and wanting purpose. This show is a revival of my prompt challenge, an artwork created in response to a randomly generated word. It's a remedy to my current situation, of wanting to capture those feelings of creative vigour and a safety net of structure.
CONTACT
Instagram: @beezy_pops
Images
Becks Popham, Drift
Becks Popham, Luminous
Becks Popham, Echo
YOUR PURCHASES HAVE POWER. SHOP LOCAL. MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
FEATURING GOOD STUFF BY:
melissa boardman . baron hasselhoff’s chocolates . forest drawn . moonrise yarn . hm makes hats . keer wood and ironworks . gael cherian . snaxpax . jackelope treasures . nana glamour . anna venture . harriet bright . oh goodness . ngaere mackinnon . simply kawakawa . pepper raccoon . nisa . galit maxwell pottery . lilla bean . carofeno makes . genevieve packer . much much . double happy hot sauces . poppy + sage . lachy . sam brown . the foliage studio .
Check us out on Facebook and Instagram - new images of goodies available added daily…
Facebook: JUST GOOD STUFF
Instagram: @justgoodstuffnz
#NZMade #ShopLocalNZ #BuyNZMade
ARTISTS
Aroha Matchitt Millar (Te Whakatōhea, Ngāti Rangitihi, Ngāi Tūhoe)
Jazmin Tainui Mihi (Te Whānau-Ā-Apanui, Whakatōhea, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hine)
Frankie Matchitt Millar (Te Whakatōhea, Ngāti Rangitihi, Ngāi Tūhoe)
Huia Farrar Taite Monro (Tainui, Ngāpuhi, Whakatōhea)
'Hōmai ō Taringa Kia Ngaua e Au' is a whakataukī that asks for your ears to listen when your tipuna have something important to say. Reconnecting with knowledge held in whakapapa, Aroha Matchitt Millar follows in the footsteps of Tane ascending space and time to collect ngā kete o te wānanga. Connecting to her nan, Matchitt Millar locates this body of work in the customary practice of skinning manu. Matchitt Millar takes you through the transformation of a tūī in the form of taonga tuku iho. Accompanied by photographic works by Jazmin Tainui Mihi as well as performance and written elements by Frankie Matchitt Millar and Huia Farrar Taite Monro.
Tomorrow I braid muka
Into rattails
Thinking about my mother
and
Her mother
Would they pull me by this muka?
Like my cousin's ear
Hōmai ō Taringa Kia Ngaua e Au
Does the Tūī miss that pull of
Knowledge too?
CONTACT
Aroha Millar: @aroha_millar
Jazmin Tainui Mihi: @jazmin.tainui.mihi
Images:
Hōmai ō Taringa Kia Ngaua e Au exhibition poster, photo by Jazmin Tainui Mihi
Te Kete Tuauri, jewellery works by Aroha Matchitt Millar, 2024
#Māori #MāoriArt #Jewellery
Kihikihi is an interactive sound installation inspired by the New Zealand chorus cicada, which is renowned for its rhythmic and persistent sound that heralds the end of summer.
In the installation, the audience can activate ‘electronic insects’ by placing them on ‘electronic trees’: once contact is made, the insect starts glowing and chirping. The insects form an orchestra, their voices blending and interweaving into a polyrhythmic sound cloud.
This participatory installation provokes contemplation on the deeper interwovenness of our natural environment and the importance of insects to human survival. If the world-wide insect decline continues at its rapid rate, will artificial insects be all that we have left? Beyond their usefulness to the ecosystem, what are we losing culturally and emotionally? Who will sing for us in summer?
Website: kihikihi.info
The Spatial Ecologies Lab is an interfaculty research initiative collaboratively hosted by the School of Architecture and the School of Design. It serves as a dynamic platform for advanced exploration of environmental and spatial challenges, combining the strengths of both disciplines. The Lab supports research candidates at Master's and PhD levels, fostering interdisciplinary inquiry that bridges architectural, ecological , and design perspectives.
The Spatial Ecologies Lab exhibtion presents an exploration of architecture, art, and design, in a series of projects that examine our relationship with the built and natural world.
Drawing from the greater Wellington region, the works originate from intensive fieldwork, embracing the tactile, audible and and visual materialities of the environment. Through innovative methods these projects challenge static interpretations of the natural environment.
Freddie Cross Considering a 4D Site Model
In recent years the field of architectural site analysis has evolved significantly, driven by advancements in drone technology and data processing capabilities. Drone based 4D site modelling can provide nuanced understanding of sites, tracking temporal shifts and environmental changes that are critical for resilient architectural design.
Luke Campbell Ornate Chronicals
Dhairya Chhaya Social Computer Interface
Exploring the development of a 'social computer interface' - a system designed to democratise the architectural design process by enabling public participation through a digital platform.
Yufan Chen Looking at Depth
The visual novel is a type of game that takes the form of digital interactive fiction. visual novels usually use fixed illustrations, this research explores using a changing Depth of Field to enhance immersion in the visual novel.
Jie Jin Extended Performance
Street performances are an essential part of urban culture, fostering community and social interaction ans reflecting the artistic pulse of a city while serving as a catalyst for cultural exchange. This research explores the transformative potential of Augmented Reality (AR) technologies to enhance the street performance experience.
Mitchell Johnson Echoes in Synaesthesia
Integrating fluctuating natural elements - such as sound noise and light - into architectural design may not only improve sensory experiences but also challenge traditional boundaries between built structures and the environment.
Calvin Molina p:k Eco-Systemicity
'p:k' has a goal to revive the human's position in the natural ecosystem through design strategies, currently focusing on food fermentation.
Images:
100 hours of flight, Freddie Cross, (2024), Technologies used: Moving image Drone, Still image, LiDAR Scanning, Photogrammetry
Bachata, Mambo, Salsa, Samba, Zouk, Latin dance and music – ¡nos encanta!
Join us as we celebrate Wellington’s vibrant Latin dance community through photography. This exhibition offers an intimate glimpse backstage as our dancers get ready to perform at the 2024 Wellington Latin Showcase.
SAMBA NO PE WORKSHOP
Estudio de Samba Wellington invites you to a special 2 hour workshop. Join us in Thistle Hall Gallery where you'll learn the vibrant dance steps of Brazil and embrace the joy of samba.
Wednesday 20 November
6.30 - 8.30pm
Thistle Hall Gallery (downstairs)
Koha Entry
FREE DANCE CLASSES
Want to give Latin dance a try? Enjoy a free Latin dance taster class upstairs at Thistle Hall. No booking required just turn up 5 minutes before each class starts.
Saturday 23 November
SALSA / Salsa Magic, 5:15 - 6pm
SAMBA / Estúdio de Samba, 6:15 - 7:15pm
BACHATA / Salsa Therapy, 7:30 - 8:15pm
LATIN DANCE PARTY
A Latin Dance Party with a little bit of everything - including a few performances. Don't be late!
Saturday 23 November
9 - 12pm
Thistle Hall (upstairs)
Entry fee $10 - cash or online banking at the door
FACEBOOK EVENT
Friday night - Late night viewing
Sponsored by Creative Communities NZ and 45 Design Studio
The concept for this exhibition is to have a joint photography and interactive tactile art books made by low vision and blind artists who also have physical and intellectual disabilities. This exhibition enables these artists to express their creativity to the wider community. As well as showcasing what individuals with disabilities can achieve.
CONTACT
Instagram: @evaronz
Facebook: Evaro
#Evaro #Wellington #Art #EmpoweringDisability #Photography