Latest Events in Auckland(July Updated)

Celebrate the Maori New Year at Tāmaki Makaurau during the Matariki Festival from July 4th to 19th, 2026. Gather with family, reflect on the past year, look forward to the future, and celebrate the present through food, conversation, rituals, and entertainment. Activities include: light installations and light trails, music and stage performances, art exhibitions and hands-on workshops, family activities and community projects, kai (a traditional Maori festival), food and cultural experiences, and more.

"Eternal Tomorrow: Contemporary Chinese Art" encompasses decades of artistic exchange since China's reform and opening up in 1978, vividly showcasing how a new generation of Chinese artists has responded to the enormous changes in society—from rural to urban, from traditional to modern, from industrial to global power. This exhibition brings together masterpieces by international art masters such as Ai Weiwei, Xu Bing, Xu Zhen, and Yang Fudong, as well as stunning works by avant-garde artists making their New Zealand debut, including Lu Yang, Pu Yingwei, and Wang Tuo, winner of the 2024 Higg Prize. "Eternal Tomorrow: Contemporary Chinese Art" presents fresh interpretations of traditional Chinese crafts, magnificent robotic sculptures, and contemplative digital landscapes. This exhibition reveals the complexity, innovation, and bold vision of contemporary Chinese art, inviting you to explore a vibrant and ever-evolving cultural landscape.

Rita Angus, *Boat, Bay of Islands*, 1968, Auckland Art Gallery, pledged by the Greg J. Moir Foundation through the Auckland Art Gallery Foundation. This exhibition celebrates Auckland collector and philanthropist Greg Moir's pledge to donate 20 important New Zealand artworks to the gallery, including paintings by Rita Angus, Jacqueline Fay, Louise Henderson, Frances Hodgkins, Ralph Hottlay, Raymond McIntyre, John Puller, and Michael Smither. This series outlines some of the key moments in New Zealand art history, revealing how artists responded to globalization, war, and social change. The works are diverse, ranging from intimate plein airs to surrealism and abstract art. The "Entrusted for Tomorrow" exhibition is more than just a collection of artworks; it is a gift to the future. Greg Moir's bequest has helped the gallery expand an important part of its New Zealand art collection, ensuring that these works can be passed down through generations.

This exhibition focuses on a series of breathtaking and captivating images, capturing little-known animal behaviors, rare species, and the awe-inspiring diversity of nature. The Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition is a global event that has been dedicated to showcasing some of nature's most amazing and challenging aspects for 61 years. Hosted by the Natural History Museum in London, the competition attracts the world's finest nature photographers, demonstrating a combination of skill, luck, and most importantly—the beauty of nature.

Information Source: The Bookworm | eventbrite

The New Zealand Women's British & Irish Lions3 Union team, also known as the Black Ferns, is a powerhouse in the world of women's rugby. They are 3-time winners of the Women's Rugby World Cup in 1998, 2002, and 2017 and have consistently performed well in other international competitions. With a strong focus on developing talented players, the team boasts impressive names such as Portia Woodman, Kendra Cockles, and Selica Winiata. The Black Ferns often play at Women's Rugby World Cup4, the largest stadium in New Zealand and the site of many iconic moments in the team's history. With a strong fan base and a legacy of success, the New Zealand Women's British & Irish Lions3 Union team is certainly one to watch in the world of rugby. The British & Irish Lions Women's British & Irish Lions3 Union team has been a dominant force in international competitions since its inception in 2003. The team, made up of elite players from England, Scotland, British & Irish Lions4, and Ireland, has competed in various prestigious tournaments such as the Women's Six Nations Championship and the Women's Rugby World Cup. In 2017, they were crowned Six Nations Grand Slam champions, solidifying their position as one of the top teams in Europe. The Lions Women also boast a talented roster of players, including record-breaking try scorer, Lizzie Kelly, and England's most capped female player, Rochelle Clark. The team calls the iconic Twickenham Stadium their home ground, providing a thrilling atmosphere for fans to watch their favorite players in action. With an impressive track record and a dedicated fan base, the British & Irish Lions Women's British & Irish Lions3 Union team continues to make a mark in the world of women's rugby. Information Source: fixturecalendar.com

The Ellerslie Fairy and Pirate Festival takes place every September in the village of Ellerslie and offers a magical experience for all ages. From enchanting fairies to brave pirates, there's something for everyone. This event has been running for over 20 years and is a favorite of the Ellerslie community and the wider region. Every year we see so many families returning, as well as people experiencing the event for the first time.

Taimoana | Coastlines explores the art of Aotearoa New Zealand, locating it within Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa, the wider Pacific region. Taking the concept of the coast, or shoreline, as a starting point, the exhibition navigates a sea of ideas, offering multiple perspectives on New Zealand art through a selection of works from the collection of Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki. The coast is central to the way of life of many in Aotearoa New Zealand and it has been throughout our entire history. Integral to te ao Māori, the Māori world, the interconnectedness of land and sea is reflected in cultural narratives and practices. The coast is at times a source of sustenance and employment, at others a route for travel, a space of recreation, conflict, well-being or inspiration, but also, as the climate continues to change, at the frontline of danger. The coast is a threshold, an in-between zone, a perpetually shifting meeting point of land and sea that prompts us to examine our relationships with both. In this exhibition, artists from the 18th century to today ride the oceans' currents, traversing themes from the enormity of the Pacific to the vessels that have crossed its expanse and plied Aotearoa's coasts, and exploring their personal responses to the shore as well as the legacies of colonial encounters and conflict.

Threads of Time: Travel, Trade & Textiles is a jewel-box display in the historic Mackelvie Gallery that offers a survey of European art from the 15th to the 18th centuries. Presenting for the first time new acquisitions and recent donations to our Auckland audiences, this exhibition also showcases beloved paintings and sculptures from the permanent collection, some of which have not been on display for several years. Five thematically-driven, Salon-style hangs underline the sumptuous materiality of fabrics, both as depicted subjects in art and as physical supports that sometimes peek through a painting's layers of pigment and varnish. Products of technology and trade, fabrics are cultural artefacts. They are also markers of social status and expressions of individual taste and sentiment. As such, their depiction in paintings, sculpture and works on paper is the outcome of precise negotiations between artist and client. Interpreting works from the permanent collection through this social and historical lens, Threads of Time explores how fabrics can offer insight into the interwoven threads of fashion, art and identity in the politics and cultures of the past.