City Gallery Wellington

City Gallery Te Whare Toi occupies the 1940 municipal library building on Civic Square, converted in 1993, and it works differently from a museum: it holds no permanent collection and exists entirely to programme exhibitions, mostly contemporary and often uncomfortable, drawn from New Zealand, the Pacific and internationally. That means what you get depends completely on what is on - there is no fallback of standing galleries, and between shows parts of the building close. It has a long record of bringing significant international contemporary work to a city of this size and of showing Maori and Pacific artists seriously rather than as a category. Civic Square around it was affected by the earthquake-strengthening problems that closed the adjacent central library and the town hall for years, so the surroundings have been a construction site for a long time; the gallery itself was shut from 2024 while the works cut off its entrance and reopened in October 2026. Entry is free for most exhibitions.

History

The gallery began as the Wellington City Art Gallery on 23 September 1980 in a former office block at 65 Victoria Street. In 1989 it moved across the street to the old Chews Lane Post Office, and in 1993 it was renamed City Gallery Wellington and moved into the former Central Library on Civic Square, an Art Deco building of 1940 (Wikipedia, City Gallery Wellington).

What's there

• The current exhibitions - which is all there is; no permanent collection.
• The 1940 library building - converted to galleries in 1993.
• The contemporary programme - New Zealand, Pacific and international.
• Civic Square - long under construction around it.

When to go

Any season; check what is on before going, since there is nothing to see between shows. Closed some weekdays. Free for most exhibitions.

Things to know

No permanent collection means the visit is entirely dependent on the programme, and changeover periods can leave much of the building shut. The contemporary work is demanding and not to all tastes. Civic Square has been a building site.

Nearby

Te Papa and the waterfront are a short walk; Cuba Street is uphill.

Key facts