Here, within Shed 11, lies a treasure trove of faces and stories. This is the New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pūkenga Whakaata. Founded in 1990, the gallery found its permanent home here on Wellington’s waterfront in 2010.
Step inside. The New Zealand Portrait Gallery enables us to encounter portraits. They are portraits of New Zealanders in all their diversity. These people have shaped our country’s development. They have influenced how we think about ourselves.
Through portraiture, we gain fresh perspectives. We see ourselves, our history, our creativity, and our place in the world anew. The New Zealand Portrait Gallery relies on donations. They come from individuals and organizations. Sponsors, too, fund the annual portrait competitions. These are the Adam Portraiture Award and the Kiingi Tuheitia Portraiture Award. Without dedication, the gallery would not exist. Many volunteers serve on the Board of Trustees and committees.
Currently, the New Zealand Portrait Gallery hosts diverse exhibitions. “Background Matters” asks what can be revealed. It examines the sitter of a portrait in the expanded field of their surroundings. The exhibition subverts the hierarchy of subject and setting. It considers the portraiture of Aotearoa New Zealand from a fresh vantage point.
Gavin Hurley’s portraits play with portraiture’s role. They examine its use as a tool. They explore the crafting and performance of public personae. “Me Anga Whakamua – Facing the Future” responds to the Tuia 250 event. It explores the impact of the first encounters. These were the encounters between Māori and Europeans. Emotive photographic portraits capture tāngata whenua. Their thoughts and aspirations offer a window. They offer a window into everyday lives of Māori. They look back to the past to form a pathway to a shared future.
The Kiingi Tuheitia Portraiture Award is a competition. It encourages young Māori artists. They create portraits of their tūpuna in any medium. The New Zealand Portrait Gallery hosts and administers the Award. It honors the late Māori King, Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII. This award provides young Māori artists with an opportunity. They can showcase their talents on the national stage. It also plays an important role. It helps record and celebrate tūpuna and their stories. The award for the overall winner is $20,000.
Delve into the complicated multiplicities of self-perception and identity. This exhibition presents innovative painted self-portraits. They are by modern and contemporary artists from Aotearoa New Zealand. The Adam Portraiture Award is New Zealand’s premier portrait prize.
Robyn Kahukiwa’s artworks have made a difference to Māori. They have provided beauty and strength. They offer inroads into our mātauranga. They share the multi-layered, inter-generational, ever-evolving stories. These stories are part of our cultural landscape. Her work has become an alternate visual rendering. It is a rendering of Aotearoa’s history. It’s seen through the lens of a Māori woman.
The New Zealand Portrait Gallery is open daily. The hours are 10:00 am to 4:30 pm. Entry is free. Except for Christmas Day and Good Friday, the gallery welcomes all. Take a moment to step beyond the frame. See what stories you discover within these walls.