Past Events
This events archive includes a selection of events dating back to 2019. Check out our upcoming events here.
Event
Kete Aronui book club with Dilohana Lekamge
Saturday 26 February 2022
Join us for our Kete Aronui book club event with artist, writer and curator Dilohana Lekamge. Join Dilohana, who wrote the accompanying essay for our current exhibition I Multiply Each Day, to discuss Manthia Diawara’s essay Édouard Glissant’s Worldmentality: An Introduction to One World in Relation. This is an opportunity to explore Glissant’s thinking and filmic style and purpose in relation to the exhibition as well Dilohana’s essay.
Event
VOLUNTEERING TRIP TO MOTUIHE ISLAND
Sunday 20 February 2022
Join us as we spend the day with artist Emily Parr on Motuihe Island and volunteer as part of the Motuihe Restoration conservation project. This trip coincides with Gus Fisher Gallery’s presentation of Parr’s project Through the time spiral: ‘Oli Ula which explores her family connections to Motuihe Island and its history as an internment camp during the First World War.
Tour
WEEKEND CURATOR TOUR WITH COFFEE AND DONUTS
Saturday 19 February 2022
Head to Gus Fisher Gallery for a tour of our current exhibition I Multiply Each Day with our curator Lisa Beauchamp. Lisa will take you through the exhibition, which examines histories of migration from a contemporary standpoint from artists Larry Achiampong, Christopher Ulutupu and Michelle Williams Gamaker.
Online screening
Hiraki Sawa: Dwelling (2002) & Absent (2018)
19 November – 3 December 2021
Gus Fisher Gallery presents a special online screening of Hiraki Sawa’s Dwelling (2002) and Absent (2018). Dwelling was originally shown as part of From our Beautiful Square.
Online screening
Józef Robakowski: From My Window
15 – 31 November 2021
Józef Robakowski’s 16mm film work From My Window (1978–1999) captures episodes of everyday activity that occurred within the 20-storey high-rise complex where the artist lived. From My Window was shown as part of the exhibition From our Beautiful Square.
Artist activation
An evolving sculpture by Jeremy Leatinu’u
10 & 24 July, 7 & 21 August 2021
For Building monuments and folding forts upon a slippery ocean and a moving sky (2021), artist Jeremy Leatinu’u will reconfigure the sculpture onsite.
Family activity
Story time & tissue art
14 August 2021
Bring your kids for a fun story time session inspired by the exhibition, From our Beautiful Square, followed by a tissue paper craft activity. Kindly sponsored by Unity Books.
Workshop
Painting & mark-making with Salome Tanuvasa
7 August 2021
Join artist Salome Tanuvasa for a hands-on workshop on painting and mark-making in the gallery. The workshop will include a series of exercises focusing on colour, shape, architecture and movement. Tickets are $10 per person.
Publication launch
COOKED
4 August 2021, Shadows Bar, 8 Alfred Street
Something’s cooking! As part of From our Beautiful Square, Gus Fisher Gallery presents COOKED: a publication reflecting on 2020’s lockdown through shared kitchen experiences. Conceived by Chani Balmer, Shania Pablo, Anneka Scholtz and Reah Somerville.
Workshop
Monoprinting for kids
17 & 24 July 2021
Be inspired by the works of artist Salome Tanuvasa in From our Beautiful Square and create your own original monoprints with lines, squiggles and lots of colour!
Film screening
Merata: how mum decolonised the screen
10 July 2021
Join us for a screening of Heperi Mita’s documentary film and learn more about pioneering Māori filmmaker Merata Mita. The screening will be followed by an audience Q&A with Heperi Mita. Part of Matariki Festival 2021.
Artist talk
Jeremy Leatinu’u & Salome Tanuvasa
26 June 2021
Join us for a floor talk with artists Jeremy Leatinu’u and Salome Tanuvasa, ahead of the opening celebration of From our Beautiful Square.
Event
Tarot with Te Kani: career readings
29 May 2021
Drop in on the last day of happiness is only real when shared for a free tarot reading from Samuel Te Kani inside Mark Schroder’s installation Fortune Teller.
Workshop
Crazy clay-making
22 May 2021
Be inspired by Mark Schroder’s epic installation in happiness is only real when shared and make your own objects for your desk using modelling clay.
Event
Proportunity: headshot photography sessions
13 February & 15 May 2021
Update your professional profiles with new headshots, courtesy of Vanessa Mei Crofskey & Kimmi Rindel’s Wellbeing Analysis Techniques Limited. Presented as part of Now You See Me in The Booth.
Tour
Lunchtime tour with Mark Schroder
14 May 2021
Join us for a talk and tour of Fortune Teller in happiness is only real when shared with artist Mark Schroder and curator Lisa Beauchamp.
Workshop
Satire & storytelling with Daniel Vernon
8 May 2021
Join Pōneke Wellington artist and writer Daniel Vernon (aka @yeehawtheboys) for a two hour workshop on storytelling and political satire, and create your own comic strip.
Event
Poetry night: reader response
22 April 2021
Join us for an evening of poetry responding to our exhibition, happiness is only real when shared, with a line up of speakers curated by poet, author and playwright Dominic Hoey. Speakers include Hoey, Matilda Clack, Ria Masae, Liam Jacobson and Takunda Muzondiwa.
Workshop
Mud & mind
10 April 2021
Mud and mind is a two hour group workshop led by artist Becky Richards. Grounded in a series of slow-paced, gentle exercises in clay, this making session will explore mindfulness as a positive, political force.
Tour
Cantonese language guided tour with Wai Ching Chan
27 March 2021
Hear more about Hong Kong based artist Wong Ping and his animations in happiness is only real when shared, in a Cantonese language tour with artist Wai Ching Chan.
Event
Kete aronui book club with Sam Gaskin
20 March 2021
Art writer and editor Sam Gaskin will discuss Chinese artists’ strategies for expressing themselves under authoritarianism, drawing from the book City on Fire: The Fight for Hong Kong by Antony Dapiran. Kindly sponsored by Unity Books and Kōkako coffee.
Event
Good morning, good morning!
8-14 March 2021
Sign up to receive daily morning messages from artist JingCheng Zhao for one week, inspired by customised morning call services available on major Chinese online shopping website TaoBao. Click here to see archived messages.
Talk
The absolute state of it; journalism today in Aotearoa
28 October 2020, Lecture hall B10, University of Auckland general library basement
Fake news, bad algorithms, pay walls and polarising politicians: the state of journalism today is fraught with 21st century challenges and opportunities. Hosted by comedian Tim Batt, the panel of speakers includes Carol Hirschfeld (Stuff), Hayden Donnell (RNZ, The Spinoff), Kirsty Johnston (Stuff), and Leonie Hayden (The Spinoff). This event is part of The Medium is the Message. Watch the talk recording here.
Film screening
Bastion Point: Day 507
24 October 2020
As part of The Medium is the Message, Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision and Gus Fisher Gallery present a screening of Bastion Point: Day 507 directed by Merata Mita, Leon Narbey and Gerd Pohlmann. The screening will be followed by a discussion with the Hawke Whānau (Ngāti Whātua) and Dr Jani Wilson (AUT).
Event
Kete aronui book club: Carolee Schneemann
15 October 2020
Join curator Lisa Beauchamp for a spirited discussion on the life and work of pioneering feminist artist Carolee Schneemann, whose installation Devour (2003) features in The Medium is the Message.
Artist activation
Zheng Nuanzhi: Evening! with Jimmy Applause
13 October 2020
Open late for Artweek Auckland, Gus Fisher Gallery will be activated by artist Zheng Nuanzhi, as she invites participants to join a live talk show with drag king Jimmy Applause. Part of Artweek Auckland.
Tour
Behind the scenes of TVNZ’s former home
3 October 2020
Discover the site of the first official public television broadcast in Aotearoa in this special guided tour, as we celebrate 60 years of television in the building where it all began. Part of Auckland Heritage Festival.
Screening
Nam June Paik screening with introduction by Tobias Berger
1 August 2020
Tobias Berger, Head of Arts at Tai Kwun (Hong Kong), discusses the “father of video art” Nam June Paik. A screening of selected short films by Paik that dissect the medium of television will follow.
Workshop
An introduction to web development
27 June 2020, RainbowYOUTH, 10 Abbey Street, Auckland Central 1010
Learn the basics of web development in this free workshop led by developers Jessica Morgan and Kimmi Rindel. Generously supported by Rule Foundation. Part of Queer Algorithms.
Event
An evening of poetry with essa may ranapiri and friends
25 June 2021
Join essa may ranapiri with fellow poets Te Inuwai Nathan, Simone Kaho and Tāwhanga Nopera for an intimate poetry reading. Generously supported by Rule Foundation. Part of Queer Algorithms.
Talk
Remembering Brandon: a kōrero on trans visibility
18 June 2020
Expanding upon and coming into conflict with Brandon by Shu Lea Cheang, researcher and community health worker Max Whitehurst leads an open discussion on trans histories, dissensus and the politics of recognition.
Talk
Conversion therapy in Aotearoa: current issues
21 May 2020, Zoom webinar
Hosted by Auckland Pride Festival Director Max Tweedie, join Takatāpui creative Alesha Ahdar, Youth MP Shaneel Lal, Labour MP Marja Lubeck, and artist and LGBTQI+ activist Shannon Novak for a discussion on conversion therapy in Aotearoa and activism around banning the practice. Watch the recording here.
Event
Tarot reading with John Walter
13 March 2020
Have your fortune read by artist John Walter with his very own artist-made ad ‘queered’ tarot cards.
Performance
John Walter: m_Doomsday {Shitney (exorcism)}
12 March 2020
View footage of a newly commissioned performance by UK artist John Walter. Staged within Walter’s installation for Queer Algorithms, M_DOOMSDAY {SHITNEY (EXORCISM)} narrates a history of the universe from the Big Bang through to viruses of the mind using script, song, costume and video.
Watch the live performance recorded by Ian Powell here. Find music from this performance here.
Talk
Building inter-generational queer love: a panel talk
29 February 2020, Pioneer Women’s Hall, Ellen Melville Centre
Join us in conversation with members of our Queer community, as we discuss how we can strengthen inter-generational bonds through radical creative queer praxis, and continue our collective liberation through inter-generational queer love and resistance. Generously supported by Rule Foundation. Organised by Bronte Perry as part of Queer Algorithms.
Event
Art & donuts: the NZ AIDS memorial quilt special
15 February 2020
Join us for donuts and coffee while you hear from speakers discussing the New Zealand AIDS memorial quilt and ongoing issues relating to HIV in Aotearoa today. In association with the New Zealand AIDS Foundation and Ending HIV. Part of Queer Algorithms.
Opening
Exhibition opening: Queer Algorithms
14 February 2020
Join us as we celebrate the opening of Queer Algorithms. A performance by Prairie Hatchard-McGill will begin at 6pm.
Event
Acoustic Leaks, act 2: how to listen
14 December 2019
Featuring Dr Emily Beausoleil on listening as social justice work. An event series in two acts for The Shouting Valley.
Event
Acoustic Leaks, act 1: voices unheard
16 November 2019
What kind of environment do we need to construct in order to hear each other better? Artists Hoda Afshar and Cushla Donaldson speak alongside others on the subject of incarceration and detention centres. An event series in two acts for The Shouting Valley.
Film screening
Island of the Hungry Ghosts (2018)
1 November 2019, Ellen Melville Centre
This award-winning documentary by Gabrielle Brady follows the migration of millions of land crabs on Christmas Island from jungle to sea. The same jungle hides a high-security Australian detention centre where thousands of asylum seekers have been locked away indefinitely.
Performance
Vanessa Crofskey & helpers: We were not born to be stuck
15, 17 & 18 October 2019
Join Vanessa Crofskey and helpers in a series of action-based performances devised in response to The Shouting Valley. Through an anonymous process of submission and action, you are invited to transform the names of worn locations and lovers into actions that carry invisible outcomes.
Talk
Meng Foon in conversation with Damon Salesa
10 October 2019
Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon joins Pro-Vice Chancellor (Pacific) Damon Salesa for a kōrero on migration, identity and representation in Aotearoa today. Listen to the talk recording here.
Event
Art & donuts: The Shouting Valley
28 September 2019
Join curator Lisa Beauchamp as she discusses The Shouting Valley with two of the exhibiting artists, Cushla Donaldson and Shahriar Asdollah-Zadeh.
Workshop
The Mud Dose: ceramic hand-building workshop
24 & 31 August 2019
Led by Becky Richards, this ceramic hand-building workshop will guide participants through basic methods of forming and joining in stoneware paperclay.
Event
Kete aronui book club: Joyce Campbell
8 August 2019
Join artist Joyce Campbell as she discusses the book From the Observatory (1972) by Julio Cortazar, for the exhibition The Slipping Away.
Film screening
Godfrey Reggio: Koyaanisqatsi (1983)
28 July & 2 August 2019, Civic Theatre
Join us for a screening of cult film Koyaanisqatsi (1982). Part of The Slipping Away, in association with the New Zealand International Film Festival.
Event
Trash talk: an intro to zero waste
27 July 2019
Join Kristy Lorson, founder of Auckland-based zero waste enterprise EarthSavvy, as she shares her tips for reducing household waste. Make your own zero waste toothpaste and deodorant to take home.
Event
Nope Sisters: Call ME Fashion
18 July 2019
Nope, it’s not trash – it’s fashion! Join us for the launch of the Nope Sisters Mother Earth upcycled jackets, along with a panel discussion on sustainable fashion practices.
Talk
Jonathan Kay: Negative Mass
2 July 2019, Takutai Square, Britomart
Artist Jonathan Kay gives a talk on Negative Mass, a new site-specific project at Takutai Square. Using a 19th century cyanotype printing technique, Kay will capture the process of ice melting.
Tour
Billy Apple: $100,000 Credit Held
Self-guided/tours available on request, Lumley Centre
Take a tour up to Lumley Centre’s 20th floor to see Billy Apple’s $100,000 Credit Held displayed in his lawyer’s offices, and discover how the work connects to We’re Not Too Big to Care.
Event
Kete aronui book club: The Picture of Dorian Gray
13 June 2019
The Pipiri (June) edition of Kete Aronui looks at The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890) by Oscar Wilde, chosen by Aroha Novak, whose work The right to be unequal features in We’re Not Too Big to Care.
Tour
1YA building: anniversary heritage tour
1 June 2019
The Gus Fisher Gallery was originally the premises of New Zealand’s first ever television broadcast in 1960. Join us on the anniversary of this broadcast for a special tour of the building.
Event
The feminised labour of care
29 May 2019
A consciousness-raising session with Cait Johnson and Ruby Alexander. Why do we expect women to do certain kinds of work and not men? Join Cait and Ruby for discussion on the relations between capitalism, women and wage labour.
Event
Haratau book club: Deborah Rundle on The Problem with Work by Kathi Weeks
9 May 2019
For Haratau (May) book club, artist Deborah Rundle discusses The Problem with Work: Feminism, Marxism, Antiwork Politics, and Postwork Imaginaries by Kathi Weeks.
Event
Art & donuts: We’re Not Too Big To Care
6 April 2019
Hear artists Aroha Novak, Emily Hartley-Skudder and Hikalu Clarke in conversation with curator Lisa Beauchamp about their works for We’re Not Too Big To Care. Coffee courtesy of Kōkako Organic Coffee Roasters.
Event
Gallery Grooming with The Gentry
Saturday 6 April
Come to Gus Fisher Gallery any time between 1 – 3pm on Saturday 6 April for a complimentary barber cut by the team from The Gentry while enjoying some complimentary coffee from Kōkako Organic Coffee Roasters.
Event
Exhibition Opening: We’re Not Too Big to Care
Friday 5 April 2019
Gus Fisher Gallery is excited to welcome visitors back through its doors for its most ambitious show to date. With 16 artists from New Zealand, China, Canada and the United States, We’re Not Too Big to Care re-launches the gallery following an ambitious refurbishment to its Category 1 listed heritage interior.
Featuring special guests Tayi Tibble and Dance Plant Collective.

Gus Fisher Gallery
74 Shortland Street
Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland Central 1010
Tuesday – Friday:
10am – 5pm
Saturdays:
10am – 4pm