Friday Five: What’s going on at City Gallery

It’s been stunning in Pōneke this summer, but sometimes it’s nice to get away from the heat. Here are five things happening at City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi. Come in and enjoy the art (and the air conditioning)!

Seven very large paintings in pink, orange, yellow and blue tones, lining the wall of a gallery with the silhouettes of two onlookers admiring the art standing on a vast wooden floor. — The Ten Largest, 1907. Photo courtesy of Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden.

City Gallery is still operating at the red traffic setting at a reduced capacity. Booking through their website is highly recommended to ensure you don’t miss out!

1. Tuatara Open Late – Thursday 3 February, 5pm - 10pm

Make the most of the long days and join City Gallery Wellington for a night of entertainment on Thursday 3 February.

The evening features a panel discussion on the future of monuments, a screening of the short film Point and Line to Plane, a conversation with film directors on Hilma af Klint, and live music by the Neo-Folk Artist, Jazmine Mary.

Tickets cost $20 and include exhibition entry. To find out more and book tickets visit the City Gallery website.

2. Wellness Weekend – Saturday 12 & 13 February

City Gallery Wellington is hosting a wonderful weekend of wellness, inspired by the Hilma af Klint exhibition.

The weekend is jam-packed with events including painting, a guided meditation, a self-love wedding ceremony, and much more!

For more information or to book tickets to these events visit the City Gallery website.

A still of a film showing a woman with her eyes clothes bathed in blue and green light. — Still from Point and Line to Plane by Canadian filmmaker Sofia Bohdanowicz

3. Summer Sunday Screening of Point and Line to Plane – Sunday 30 January, 2pm

Join the City Gallery for the last in a series of Summer Sunday Screenings selected by Senior Curator Aaron Lister for their resonance with Hilma af Klint: The Secret Paintings.

The final screening is Point and Line to Plane. It is a film by Canadian filmmaker Sofia Bohdanowicz which focuses on a young woman’s experience with grief and the relationship between her and the art of Hilma af Klint and Wassily Kandinsky.

Attendance is open to anyone who has bought a ticket to any session of Hilma af Klint: The Secret Paintings. To find out more and book tickets visit the City Gallery website.

4. Hilma af Klint: The Secret Paintings and Pages of Mercury: Rita Angus, Andrew Beck, Séraphine Pick

Catch the Hilma af Klint exhibition before it closes on 27 March. See af Klint’s enormous The Ten Largest (1907), depicting the stages of life, and the hypnotic three-part Altarpieces (1915).

While you are there, visit the Pages of Mercury exhibition and see Rita Angus, Andrew Beck and Séraphine Pick’s works of the night sky.

Tickets and more information about these exhibitions are available on the City Gallery website.

The cream stone Wellington City Gallery building, with tall dark rectangle windows, and a large hand sculpture on the roof.

5. Gallery tours

Do you want to learn more about the art in City Gallery? Take a tour with the knowledgeable tour guides.

Tours start at 12.15pm every Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Booking is not required, just find the friendly tour guide in the foyer. Tours are free (with exhibition entry admission).

Visitors to City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi (age 12+) will need to verify their My Vaccine Pass on entry. For more information, visit the City Gallery website.

Watch out each Friday for a fun list of five great activities to do, places to explore, or things to discover in our awesome city.