Building on the record-breaking success of its 2025 edition – which drew over 11,000 visitors, the highest attendance in the Fair’s 21-year history – the 2026 Aotearoa Art Fair will be its largest yet.
Returning to the Viaduct Events Centre from 30 April – 3 May, the Fair will expand across all three levels of the venue for the first time, bringing together 60 galleries representing more than 200 artists, marking a record number of exhibitors and international participants. Set against Auckland’s waterfront, the expanded format enables a broader programme and more galleries, further cementing the Fair’s position as New Zealand’s premier contemporary art event.
The 2026 gallery lineup reflects the diversity of contemporary art practice across Aotearoa and the wider region, with leading Auckland galleries including Gow Langsford, Fox Jensen McCrory, and STARKWHITE joined by Wellington’s James Blackie, Jhana Millers, and McLeavey Gallery, alongside regional representation from SPA_CE (Napier), PAULNACHE (Gisborne), and Milford Galleries (Queenstown & Dunedin).
“Contemporary art has the power to shape how we see ourselves and our place in the world,” says Sue Waymouth, Fair Director. “The 2026 Fair is our most ambitious edition yet, where Māori, Pacific and international contemporary practices converge in ways you won’t find anywhere else. A strong contingent of galleries from overseas brings a new dynamic that places the Fair firmly on the global stage.”
Leading artists from Aotearoa will present significant new and recent work, including Lisa Reihana (Gallery Sally Dan-Cuthbert), whose in Pursuit of Venus appears at the Fair for the first time outside an institutional context following its international tour, and Judy Millar (Michael Lett), presenting a solo booth of new large-scale paintings.
Contemporary Māori and Pacific practices are a defining presence, spanning painting, sculpture, installation, and photography, with highlights including a new constellation diptych by Reuben Paterson (Bergman Gallery), Shane Cotton (Gow Langsford), and Robert Jahnke (PAULNACHE).
CURATED SECTORS
The Fair’s curated sectors return in 2026, offering multiple entry points across emerging art, works on paper, ceramics, and design. Horizons (presented with Chapman Tripp) champions rising and unrepresented artists through four curated booths led by Kristine Crabb, Matthew Galloway, Chevron Hassett, and Becky Hemus. Object brings together ceramics, design, and sculptural works from exhibitors including Season, Masterworks Gallery, and Kurutai Collective, while an expanded Works on Paper sector surveys drawing, printmaking, photography, and editions.
ACTIVATIONS & TALKS
The Fair’s programme extends beyond the gallery walls through talks, installations, and city-wide activations. Let’s Talk Art (presented by Aon) returns with a series featuring more than 30 speakers including Nat Cheshire, Rufus Knight, and Dame Dayle Mace. Now in its second year, the free Aotearoa Art Fair Sculpture Trail (presented by Viaduct Harbour) will feature more than 20 large-scale works along Auckland’s waterfront, including pieces by Brandon Snape, James Rodgers, and a floating work by Gregor Kregar.
From iconic names to rising stars, galleries from across Aotearoa, Australia, Berlin, London, and the Pacific bring bold presentations and unexpected discoveries to one of the southern hemisphere’s most compelling contemporary art events. Whether you’re a first-time visitor or a seasoned collector, the Aotearoa Art Fair is New Zealand’s best art day out.
Tickets are available at artfair.co.nz.
