ArtWeek in the City Centre returns with vitality this October

Auckland’s Heart of the City will be blooming with creativity this Spring when ArtWeek in the City Centre returns with a vibrant programme of over 50 pop up exhibitions, galleries, installations, free art walks, artist talks, workshops, and more between 6-15 October 2023.

Viv Beck, Heart of the City's Chief Executive, says, “This year's ArtWeek in the City Centre programme is testament to creative talent and as diverse as the city itself. It’s a great reason to visit the city centre and will bring some wonderful energy and vitality here. Late Night Art is always popular, and this year’s schedule is lining up to be unmissable.”

Just some of the events and installations are listed below: 

Changing Lanes, (Installations) 2 October - early December, Little High Street, Elliott Street, Durham Street East, and Chancery Square.

• Tribute: Luggage Tags Triptych by Faleata Ualesi, an evocative representation of migration journeys on Little High Street.
• TE AWA: The Water by Shan Yu and Janae Van Panahon, paying homage to the buried Waihorotiu Stream on Durham Street East.
• Rupture by DARK ARTS STUDIO and Gary McKay uses corrugated iron to channel light in ways reminiscent of volcanic flow in Chancery Square.
• Taurima: Elliott Street by Lissy Robinson-Cole (Ngāti Kahu and Ngāti Hine),Rudi Robinson-Cole (Waikato, Ngaruahine, Ngāti Pāoa, Te Arawa), Ataahua Papa (Ngāti Korokī Kahukura, Ngāti Mahuta),and Angus Muir Design.

Rebirth by Eduardo Toletino Tan, an evocative take on the natural world on the Freyberg Steps.

Our Urban Neighbourhood by Mark Baber, portraits of the local business community, celebrating their stories and the faces behind them, in Victoria Street West, between Elliott Street and Federal Street. 

Over 20 free guided art walks, including the Unlocked Collections series, which will showcase the private collections of the Park Hyatt Auckland, Russell McVeagh, Auckland Council and the University of Auckland Business School and Science Centres.

Good News For You at The Strand Arcade (until Christmas Eve). Five artists presenting new works in temporary pop-up galleries - Anna Hanson, Oscar Low, Nicholas J Boyd, Ed Bats, and Margarita Vovna.

Late Night Art, 12 October, features over 30 exhibitions, installations, performances, workshops, and activations across the city centre. Highlights include:

• Urban Art Village, O’Connell Street and Freyberg Square - created by University of Auckland Architecture and Planning Students - will champion public interactions through their installations, including:
  • City of Dreams will bring people’s utopian city to life.
  • Making Site will invite visitors to imagine possibilities for the city’s shared space through model-making.
  • Dandelion Minds, this collaborative mural will offer an opportunity for passers-by to paint a garden on panels.
     
• Open Late in Ellen Melville Centre & Freyberg Place will include a K-pop dance pop up, and full night of live music, DJ’s, art markets and workshops.
   
• Capture: Aotearoa's first live Digital Dance Showcase will feature dance artists projected digitally in Aotea Square, presented by Tempo Te Rerenga o Tere in partnership with Auckland Live. 
   
• Fa'atasi mo tatou taleni Siva: Samoan dance at Britomart from Ankarmy Fepulea'i and his group, as well as Wāhine Toa Siva Afi firedancers in Britomart's Takutai Square.
   
• Galleries will be open late, including Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, Gow Langsford Gallery, Kura Gallery, The Tuesday Club, and more.
   
• Open Late in Khartoum Place - will feature DJ’s, a food truck and drawing workshop, while Luminescence by La Lumiere will light up the space. 
   
• Paname Social will host A Taste of Art Battle - This international craze sees professional artists and on-the-day sign-ups go head-to-head in a live painting battle, with winners decided by the audience.
   
• Toi Kōrero - Creative chat with Māori artists - Join a panel of established artists and creatives who are integrating Māori design and stories into public art and the built environment, at AECOM House.
   
• Te Ahitūroa - Light up the Laneway - Join in for an enchanting evening where art and light converge, with artist Hana Maihi, Dockside Lane. 

ArtWeek in the City Centre is brought to the city centre by Heart of the City, with the extensive programming made possible by a range of city centre stakeholders.

-ENDS-