Artist Talks

Hear directly from the creators in our popular Artist Talks Programme presented at the gallery booths. Artists will share the stories, inspirations, and experiences that shape their art, offering a deeper understanding of the ideas and concepts that bring their creations to life. Admission to Artist Talks is included in all Fair tickets. No booking required.

Lissy and Rudi Robinson-Cole presented by Te Manawa

Friday, May 1, 2026

11:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Viaduct Events Centre

Lissy & Rudi Robinson-Cole are partners in art-making and in life. Their artworks explore mātauranga Māori and the importance of ancestral knowledge through crocheted woollen sculpture. In this conversation they speak with Nigel Borell about their art practice and future ambitions.

Kenny Pittock presented by MARS Gallery

Friday, May 1, 2026

11:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Viaduct Events Centre

Join Kenny Pittock at the MARS Gallery booth to discover how his fascination with discarded shopping lists evolved into a series of intimate ceramic sculptures.

Richard Lewer presented by {Suite}

Friday, May 1, 2026

12:00 PM - 12:30 PM

Viaduct Events Centre

Join acclaimed Aotearoa New Zealand-born, Melbourne-based artist Richard Lewer for a first hand insight into his latest body of work, a compendium of fifty paintings.

Fatu Feu’u and Alison Leauanae presented by Bergman Gallery

Friday, May 1, 2026

12:00 PM - 12:30 PM

Viaduct Events Centre

Fatu Feu’u ONZM and Alison Leauanae will speak at the Bergman Gallery booth, discussing new works created especially for Aotearoa Art Fair 2026.

The Huxleys presented by MARS Gallery

Friday, May 1, 2026

12:30 PM - 1:00 PM

Viaduct Events Centre

Step into the world of The Huxleys as Will & Garrett share insight into their vibrant photographic practice. Known for their bold visual language and signature sparkle, The Huxleys will take you inside their creative process.

Then and Now – The Life, Art & Legacy of Mirdidingkingathi Juwarnda Sally Gabori (c.1924-2015)

Friday, May 1, 2026

12:30 PM - 1:00 PM

Viaduct Events Centre

Beverly Knight is honoured to have represented and nurtured the entire career of the incomparable Sally Gabori. Since the artist’s passing in 2015, Knight was appointed the Agent for the Estate of Sally Gabori Art by the Executor of her Estate. At this insightful talk, Beverly Knight lends her intimate knowledge of the life and art of one of Australia’s most nationally and internationally significant First Nations artists.

Tim Melville and Tendai Mutambu in Conversation

Friday, May 1, 2026

1:00 PM - 1:30 PM

Viaduct Events Centre

A conversation between Tim Melville and Tendai Mutambu, Director of Enjoy Contemporary Art Space, about Areez Katki's recent overseas exhibitions and ongoing work around experimental storytelling.

Nicola Bennett presented by ARTIS Gallery

Friday, May 1, 2026

1:30 PM - 2:00 PM

Viaduct Events Centre

Nicola Bennett’s paintings translate the sensory world of cooking into abstract colour and gesture, layering flavour, language and movement into paint.

Alexander McKenzie presented by Martin Browne Contemporary

Friday, May 1, 2026

2:00 PM - 2:30 PM

Viaduct Events Centre

Alexander McKenzie, a highly regarded figure in Australian landscape painting, will be at the Martin Browne Contemporary booth to discuss his work and practice, which sits between memory and imagination.

Yuki Kihara presented by Milford Galleries

Friday, May 1, 2026

2:00 PM - 2:30 PM

Talks Theatre, Viaduct Events Centre

Aotearoa New Zealand representative for the 2022 Venice Biennale, artist Yuki Kihara talks about the impetus behind her sculpture series 'Dresstories', featured at Aotearoa Art Fair 2026.

Joan Ross presented by N.Smith Gallery

Friday, May 1, 2026

2:30 PM - 3:00 PM

Viaduct Events Centre

Joan Ross is one of the most respected artists working in Australia today. Across painting, video, installation, VR, and sculpture, her practice examines the visual language of early settlement imagery, reworking historical narratives through sharp wit and her trademark hi-vis fluro yellow to reveal how the past continues to shape contemporary culture.

Chris Wise presented by Brenda Colahan Fine Art

Friday, May 1, 2026

3:00 PM - 3:30 PM

Viaduct Events Centre

Chris Wise will describe his 2026 journey as a Nock Art Foundation artist-in-residence in the awe-inspiring landscape of Queenstown. Working plein air producing this series specifically for Aotearoa Art Fair, these artworks represent a significant moment of cross-Tasman artistic exchange -an Australian painter shaped by the physical and elemental realities of place.

Ebony Russell presented by Martin Browne Contemporary

Friday, May 1, 2026

3:30 PM - 4:00 PM

Viaduct Events Centre

After her recent success across Europe, China, Australia and Miami, Ebony Russell will be joining us at the Martin Browne Contemporary booth to present new works and discuss her artistic practice.

Tracey Jones presented by CBD Gallery

Friday, May 1, 2026

4:00 PM - 4:30 PM

Viaduct Events Centre

Tracey Jones employs precise brushwork rooted in the techniques of European realist painters, creating work that bridges the traditions of representational painting with a distinctly contemporary lens.

Oliver Watts presented by CHALK HORSE

Saturday, May 2, 2026

11:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Viaduct Events Centre

Join us at the CHALK HORSE booth for an Artist Talk with Oliver Watts, where he will be in conversation discussing his practice and the body of works on show at the Aotearoa Art Fair.

Gabby Malpas presented by Brenda Colahan Fine Art

Saturday, May 2, 2026

12:00 PM - 12:30 PM

Viaduct Events Centre

Raised in Dunedin New Zealand, Gabby will describe how studying ceramics at Otago art school led her to move to Australia as a practicing artist, working mostly in 2-dimensional watercolour - until recently returning to her ceramic practice in 2025 led her back home to NZ and to Aotearoa Art Fair, Auckland. Gabby will also describe how her work represents her hybrid transracial background as a Chinese adoptee, raised by a white family in New Zealand, now living on Gadigal land in Sydney, Australia.

Alcaston Gallery presents Sean Hill

Saturday, May 2, 2026

12:00 PM - 12:30 PM

Viaduct Events Centre

Alcaston Gallery are delighted to present an artist talk by exhibiting artist Sean Hill who will speak to his presentation at Aotearoa Art Fair 2026, as well as his broader art practice.

Ruby Wilkinson presented by Jhana Millers

Saturday, May 2, 2026

12:30 PM - 1:00 PM

Viaduct Events Centre

Join Ruby Wilkinson in conversation with Graeme Douglas, host of The Good Oil podcast and avid collector, to discuss Ruby’s solo exhibition Belle Plaine.

Scott Perkins presented by Michael Reid Sydney + Berlin

Saturday, May 2, 2026

1:00 PM - 1:30 PM

Viaduct Events Centre

Photographer Scott Perkins joins us to discuss a practice defined by patience, precision and a deep sensitivity to landscape. In this conversation he will speak about the craft behind the work, and how photography can hold a fleeting moment of land, sea and sky in perfect suspension.

Kauri Hawkins presented by CHALK HORSE

Saturday, May 2, 2026

1:00 PM - 1:30 PM

Viaduct Events Centre

Join artist Kauri Hawkins in conversation at the CHALK HORSE booth, who will be discussing his practice, the body of works on show at the Fair and his specially commissioned staircase work for Aotearoa Art Fair.

Bronte Leighton-Dore presented by Martin Browne Contemporary

Saturday, May 2, 2026

2:00 PM - 2:30 PM

Viaduct Events Centre

Join Bronte Leighton-Dore at the Martin Browne Contemporary booth and hear her explain her practice and the works she has made for the Aotearoa Art Fair.

Jane Ussher presented by Milford Galleries

Saturday, May 2, 2026

2:30 PM - 3:00 PM

Viaduct Events Centre

Jane Ussher MNZM, widely recognised as one of New Zealand’s foremost portrait and documentary photographers, reflects on “the unusual, the hidden, and the minutiae” within the historic Antarctic hut of Robert Falcon Scott, in conversation with Milford Galleries.

Emily Parker, director of PARKER Contemporary

Saturday, May 2, 2026

3:00 PM - 3:30 PM

Viaduct Events Centre

Emily Parker, Director of PARKER Contemporary (Brisbane), considers how contemporary practitioners are revitalising print and paper based techniques, offering tactile, material driven, analogue alternatives to digital imagery while fostering dialogue between artists from Australia and New Zealand.

Nicholas Pound presented by Railway Street Gallery + Studios

Saturday, May 2, 2026

3:30 PM - 4:00 PM

Viaduct Events Centre

In this talk Nicholas plans to dissect a few paintings and the "language" of found game pieces- to explore how rules, colour, and placement create meaning in the work.