Booth 21
This event is free to all ticket holders and does not require an RSVP.
This event is free to all ticket holders and does not require an RSVP.
Event Location: Viaduct Events Centre
Sione Faletau and Peata Larkin, Sculpture Trail Artists
Step beyond the Fair and into the city with this artist talk and guided encounter with Sculpture Trail artists Sione Faletauand Peata Larkin.
Meeting outside the Viaduct Events Centre, this session explores the Sculpture Trail as a site-responsive exhibition across Auckland’s waterfront. Faletau’s Lalava ki he Uho – Connected to the Essence translates harbour sound into kupesi pattern, while Larkin’s Ka Mau, Ka Ora draws on weaving traditions to honour wāhine Māori and invite audience interaction.
Together, their practices reflect Moana and Māori perspectives on connection, place, and cultural continuity—offering insight into how public sculpture can activate both environment and community.
Curator of Screams: Tour of the Fair
Curator of Screams is the unholy alliance of Aaron Lister (Senior Curator, City Gallery Wellington) and Chelsea Nichols (Senior Curator, The Dowse Art Museum)—a curatorial duo devoted to the twisted entanglement of contemporary art and horror film. Their seductive and unsettling exhibitions have been stirring New Zealand’s art scene, most recently with Blood Is Thicker and The Brood at The Dowse Art Museum and Eerie Pageantry at City Gallery Wellington. Join them for a tour through the darker corners of the Aotearoa Art Fair, as they select works worthy of the damp, crumbling walls of Dracula’s castle.
Elizabeth Thomson presented by James Blackie
Elizabeth Thomson will discuss her major sculptural installation at James Blackie’s booth. ‘Wavy Gravity’ features Elizabeth’s incredible cast bronze, oil painted Lancewood leaves, installed in mesmerising patterns on the wall that create sensations of mind bending scale, pulsing waves, and rhythmic sound.
Booth 02
This event is free to all ticket holders and does not require an RSVP.
Ben Pearce presented by James Blackie
Ben Pearce presents his new bronze sculptures at the James Blackie booth at Aotearoa Art Fair. Ben’s distinctive work has been part of the Fair for many years, including the Aotearoa Art Fair Sculpture Trail presented by Viaduct Harbour. Hawke’s Bay based Ben will provide insights into the turning his imagined metal puzzles into towering, elegant sculptural forms.
Booth 02
This event is free to all ticket holders and does not require an RSVP.
Amy Potenger presented by APS Editions
Amy Potenger will discuss the translation of her painting practice into the medium of monotype printmaking.
Booth 42
This event is free to all ticket holders and does not require an RSVP.
Charles and Janine Williams presented by Te Manawa
Charles and Janine Williams have an extensive art practice that expands the boundaries of graffiti, mural art and fine art. This husband-and-wife duo are renowned for their large-scale public mural art practice and their work can be found across urban landscape environments, business and corporate buildings and civic spaces throughout Aotearoa and the Pacific. Their art practice is increasingly found gracing the walls of galleries across the country. They present new works at the Te Manawa booth and Nigel Borell sits in conversation with couple to discuss their unique collaborative and the ideas behind the work.
Booth 19
This event is free to all ticket holders and does not require an RSVP.
Mark Smith & Felicity Jones, Co-Authors of ‘Case Studies’ presented by Lamplight Books
Mark Smith and Felicity, are the co-authors of Case Studies, a book for people who love plants and their stories.
Mark Smith has been making photographs since the late 1970s. His work has appeared in many national and international publications plus galleries. Some of his favourite projects have been the Cake Poster Collective, the book Once Removed (on tour with Neil Finn), Person, Place and Animal, a solo show at Artis Gallery, Auckland and Green Man with Deborah Smith and John Reynolds at the Black Barn Gallery, Havelock North. In 2018 he started an ongoing collaborative art project with Felicity Jones called Case Studies. He lives in Auckland with his family.
Felicity Jones is a botanical artist with a lifelong interest in all things plant related. Her small organic garden and the natural world beyond provide much of the inspiration and raw material for her work in floristry and set design. She is also a singer/songwriter and heads up the Grey Lynn Kitchen Choir.
Lamplight Books, Level Two.
This event is free to all ticket holders and does not require an RSVP.
This event is free to all ticket holders and does not require an RSVP.
Nicole England, Author of ‘Art in Residence’ presented by Lamplight Books
Nicole England is a Melbourne-based architecture and interiors photographer who has worked with many of the industry’s top architects and designers, both in Australia and abroad. When Nicole isn’t shooting architecture and design for work, she can be found photographing personal projects – most of which have an architectural focus. The best known of these is Resident Dog, which grew to become a book that captured the hearts of dog and design lovers around the world. She has also just released a new book, Art in Residence.
Lamplight Books, Level Two.
This event is free to all ticket holders and does not require an RSVP.
Christine Fernyhough, Author of ‘The Albino Kiwi & Other Rarities’ presented by Lamplight Books
Christine Fernyhough, author of The Albino Kiwi & Other Rarities; a curated selection from the author’s collection.
Christine Fernyhough is a philanthropist, sheep farmer, collector, and author whose many passions converge around a deep love of New Zealand and its people. Co-founder of Books in Homes with Alan Duff in 1994, she has dedicated decades to education and community, recognised with an ONZM and later a CNZM for her contributions. In 2004 she purchased Castle Hill Station in the Canterbury Alps, later sharing the story in her best-selling memoir The Road to Castle Hill. Her collecting life found expression through the Museum of the Everyday, established in 2015, and the 2019 publication Mid-Century Living: The Butterfly House Collection.
Lamplight Books, Level Two.
This event is free to all ticket holders and does not require an RSVP.
Aotearoa Art Fair Opening Night
Be among the first to experience Aotearoa Art Fair 2026 as the doors open and the art world comes together for one unforgettable night!
On Thursday 30 April, 5–9pm, the Viaduct Events Centre transforms into the centre of the art world as artists, collectors, curators, and art lovers gather to celebrate the opening of the Fair. Art, music, champagne, and extraordinary works from 200 artists across 25 countries. Expect a dynamic evening of art, music, conversation, and celebration – the perfect way to start the Fair.
Tickets are limited and sell out every year – book now to avoid disappointment!
A valid Opening Night ticket is required for entry. Buy tickets online.
Moira Lomas and Tim Melville present an Introduction to Toi Iho
Join Moira Lomas (Ngāi Tahu, Waitaha, Kāti Māmoe) and Tim Melville (Te Arawa, Ngāti Whakaue, Te Atiawa) for a discussion about ‘Toi Iho’, the Māori art trademark, and the ways that toi Māori brings powerful concepts and stories to life.
Booth 27
This event is free to all ticket holders and does not require an RSVP.
Chris Wise presented by Brenda Colahan Fine Art
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. These artworks carry the imprint of Otago itself – created on New Zealand soil for a New Zealand audience.
Booth 49
This event is free to all ticket holders and does not require an RSVP.
Gabby Malpas presented by Brenda Colahan Fine Art
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.
Booth 49
This event is free to all ticket holders and does not require an RSVP.
Jane Ussher presented by Milford Galleries
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.
Booth 30
This event is free to all ticket holders and does not require an RSVP.
Alexander McKenzie presented by Martin Browne Contemporary
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. Drawing on classical European traditions, his paintings focus less on depicting place and more on evoking mood, light, and an inner sense of time.
Booth 26
This event is free to all ticket holders and does not require an RSVP.
Lissy and Rudi Robinson-Cole presented by Te Manawa
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. To date the artists’ largest and most ambitious project has been Wharenui Harikoa (House of Joy), a full-size crocheted meeting house created in collaboration with whanau, community and international textile artists. Predominantly self-taught artists, together their unique crocheted sculptural creations make a unique and vibrant contribution to the conversations about the boundaries between craft, object art and conventional fine arts at present. Come hear the conversation as they talk with Nigel Borell about their art practice and future ambitions.
Booth 19
This event is free to all ticket holders and does not require an RSVP.
The Huxleys presented by MARS Gallery
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. Exploring their practice of blending sparkle, surrealism and the absurd to celebrate the beauty of nature and queer love, their work captures the surreal sparkling beauty of two queer lovers refusing to descend into the darkness. Join us for this opportunity to hear Will & Garrett speak on their work before catching their performance at the fair.
Booth 12
This event is free to all ticket holders and does not require an RSVP.
Ebony Russell presented by Martin Browne Contemporary
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.
Booth 26
This event is free to all ticket holders and does not require an RSVP.
Tim Melville and Tendai Mutambu in Conversation
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.
Booth 27
This event is free to all ticket holders and does not require an RSVP.