Where are all our public artworks? No one knows

In 1965, Jim Allen won a design competition organised by Fletcher Trust and Investment for a sculpture to be placed in the Pakuranga Town Centre development. On 28 September that year, Conversation Piece, a ten tonne ciment fondu abstracted rendering of five seated figures, was officially opened. It was robust, designed to be climbed, sat on, and otherwise interacted with, by adults and children. For two decades it was an integral part of Pakuranga. Then in 1987, Allen was informed that a food court was being added to the plaza, right where the sculpture sat. Initially, architects offered to move the sculpture to a playcentre across the road, but it proved too heavy. Allen suspects its end involved jackhammers.

Conversation Piece is one of a few red pins on Aotearoa’s national register of public artworks. Red is for works that have been lost, destroyed, or decommissioned. Orange is for works that are hidden, either behind a new wall (victims of architects and interior designers), in storage, or in a private collection. Most of the pins are green, public works that are, as they should be, accessible. The online register began with 380 works in mid-2023, and now has well over 500 – but it is incomplete – there are still at least 1,067 works to be added to the register. The people behind the register periodically send out updates as the number grows, and they’re often concluded with something like “There is still a huge amount of work to do”.

In the register are all the expected forms of public art: big stone sculptures, waharoa, murals, poupou, bronze statues, fountains. But there are also some out of the ordinary works, ones that could slip through the cracks easily, and that deserve attention too. There’s a modernist inset mural in a sauna, a wishing well, a rug, stairs and more. They’re in libraries, parks, post offices, banks, hospitals, malls, churches, and hotels. What’s most exciting is that each entry has been carefully researched and provides an interesting history of the work, the artists, and the social history. There's details like “At some point, the sculpture was painted an unusual mushroomy colour” and “He spent two weeks of his own holiday time on the mural, as well as some school time” and “years after the sculpture was completed, the daughter of the family doctor said ‘Uncle Guy, I saw your worms mating.’”

The seeds for the register were planted more than a decade ago, when investigative artist Dr Bronwyn Holloway-Smith launched a project, with Centre of Contemporary Art Christchurch and Sue Elliot, searching for, and recovering the murals of NZ artist Ernest Mervyn Taylor. Members of the public kept telling them about other murals, sometimes covered, lost or forgotten, by other artists. Holloway-Smith and Elliott recorded the details in an informal register which grew and grew. In 2016, they consulted with the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, art historians and property developers on how to protect the nation's public art, and then founded Public Art Heritage Aotearoa New Zealand. Eventually, the ministry funded them to raise awareness of public art by turning the informal register into a public resource. The aim is to find, research, document, promote and where needed and possible, save our public art, specifically of the 20th Century. 

Like the lost murals that sparked the registry, the register is in some ways a catalogue of things we’ve overlooked. There’s the red pins like Conversation Piece that have been destroyed without ceremony, the hundreds or works not yet documented, the works sitting quietly in storage, and the works that we might walk past everyday but not take note of, or know much about. Public art can easily become part of the landscape and slip into the background. It's often commissioned for a particular building or space, and when these are refreshed and updated, it is often decided the art no longer fits. In 1960 Milan Mrkusich was commissioned to design a mural for the lobby of Fort Street’s Chelsea Sugar Refinery Building. The large-scale glass tile mosaic he created was at some point covered up by an internal false wall. It wasn’t rediscovered until 2016, when the building was being redeveloped. Now it is back on display, along with a plaque, but many more such works remain covered, or are removed and destroyed. The whereabouts of Guy Ngan's 1964 Queen Street bank mural, which covered a two-storey-high wall, is unknown, and his 1962 ANZ mural is presumed destroyed.

Bronwyn Holloway-Smith says that “by documenting, promoting, and seeking protections for Aotearoa New Zealand’s 20th Century public art we’re highlighting the value of these creative contributions to public space, and raising awareness about the stories they embody to ensure this important aspect of our culture is accessible to future generations of Kiwis.” Elliot says that when artworks are undocumented, they are at risk, due to a lack of public knowledge of their significance. As the register grows, priority is given to works that are at risk, likely to gain category 1 & 2 significance from the organisation's assessment panel, or increase the diversity of artists in the database. The group has received funding from the likes of Wellington City Council’s Public Art Panel and the Lotteries Environment & Heritage Fund.

While it may never be complete, the register has already been used as a tool to reinstate public art. In the main entrance foyer of the new wing of the New Zealand Parliament Buildings, there’s a curved marble wall that extends to the ceiling of the first floor. On it hangs a woollen wall-hanging intended to evoke the experience of walking through native bush and looking up through the canopy. Forest in the Sun is a collaboration between Wellington fibre-artist, Joan Calvert and sculptor and designer, Guy Ngan. Weavers were asked to provide designs for the space, and Calvert approached Ngan to design a work. Their design was selected from 15 entries, and then took 18 months to make. Each of the six panels is 2.4 metres square, handmade with custom-dyed yarn. In February 1977, the work was hanged for the formal opening of the building. Then in 2003, when the Beehive was refurbished, the monumental work was removed (presumably considered out of fashion or some such thing) and donated to Te Papa Tongarewa. Twenty years later, Public Art Heritage Aotearoa New Zealand worked with the Parliamentary Service and Te Papa to return the work to its original location in 2023, where it proudly hangs today.

Most of the works marked red and orange cannot be reinstated. While the jackhammer is surely the worst ending, there’s also theft, painting over, storage, removed due to deterioration, never to be seen again, and unknown fates. Perhaps, by taking note of what we have, we can ensure that in the future, the map is almost entirely full of green pins.

Wellington City Council proposing to absorb arts and culture into new city activation and economic development unit

As reported by André Chumko in The Post on Tuesday, Wellington’s dedicated creative capital team is facing being scrapped entirely. A push for savings is driving the council’s proposed restructure that will disestablish 144 roles and create 80 new roles across various teams. This means 64 less positions, with arts and culture  absorbed into a new unit spanning city activation and economic development. The council’s chief economic and engagement officer, who would lead the new unit, Anna Calver told Chumko that it will have a focus on “activating Wellington through arts, culture, events and venues” and hopes to make it “easier for creatives, businesses and other organisations to get projects going in the city”.

The proposal would be a significant shift, but it’s still unclear how it will work in practice. Lucy-Margaux Marinkovich, co-chairperson of advocacy organisation Toi o Taraika Arts Wellington, told Chumko the group is “concerned about specialist arts expertise being dispersed within an economic unit and what may be lost as a result”. The council is expected to confirm its new structure this month.

Wheke Fortress and Tempo fundraisers exceed targets

Both Boosted campaigns finished earlier this week, and both exceeded their targets, with Wheke Fortress raising $53,483 and Tempo raising $36,620. Certainly not adequate replacements for robust public funding, but at least a quick and heartening stop-gap for both organisations.

CIRCUIT launches a fundraiser

Over the past 15 years CIRCUIT has commissioned over 100 Aotearoa artists to make new films, now they're aiming to raise $25,000. The charity is Aotearoa's only organisation dedicated solely to artists working in the moving image, but while demand for this work continues to grow, funding has not kept pace. Donations will help artists make new work, enable CIRCUIT to commission essays, podcasts and ensure the online collection remains free and accessible for everyone.

617 young Auckland musicians performed in Rockshop Bandquest

In mid August, 617 young musicians from across Tāmaki Makaurau took to the Bruce Mason Centre stage for Rockshop Bandquest 2026. Launched in 2011, Rockshop Bandquest is the pathway for primary and intermediate students towards Smokefreerockquest and Smokefree Tangata Beats. Participants collaborate with classmates to learn covers or write originals, and then perform. This year, the programme has served over 2,500 young people from 184 schools across Aotearoa. Dan Cosgrove, the music teacher at Southwell School, says “I think it’s so important to have events like this for young kids as we nurture their talent and they learn stage presence, musicianship. This programme ignites the flame of a love and passion for music. The amount of improvement this band [The Blue Socks] has made since term 1 is out of this world, coming in every week, practicing super hard – not only at school but in their own time – and the performance and outcome tonight is a testament to the work they’ve put in.” 

Four galleries and museums receive Blumhardt Foundation funds

For the 2026–2028 period, the Blumhardt Foundation has announced four recipients, continuing its programme of matching dollar-for-dollar subsidies to support the acquisition of contemporary New Zealand craft and object art by public institutions. The recipients of the fund are: The Dowse Art Museum (Lower Hutt); Te Manawa Museum of Art, Science and Heritage (Palmerston North); The Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū (Nelson); and Aratoi Wairarapa Museum of Art and History (Masterton) .

Each institution will receive annual funding over a three-year term. The Dowse and Te Manawa $10,000 per annum, The Suter $5,000, and Aratoi $2,500. Former Chair of the Blumhardt Foundation, Dr. Emma Bugden, says the 2026–2028 cohort “reflected the Foundation's commitment to supporting active, engaged collecting institutions across the regions”. 

Enyah Talamaivao inaugural recipient Infratil NZ Youth Choir scholarship

Choirs Aotearoa NZ has just announced that Auckland's Enyah Talamaivao has won the scholarship. Born and raised in South Auckland, the 22-year-old is of Samoan descent, and is studying classical voice and criminology at University of Auckland. The scholarship will cover Enyah’s annual NZYC membership fees for three years and contribute to her participation in the choir’s next international tour in 2028. Enyah was a member of the New Zealand Youth Choir when it won Choir of the World in the UK last year. Enyah is also a talented young conductor. She served a year as the Pasifika Conducting Intern for Choirs Aotearoa New Zealand and was a conducting intern with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. Enyah also conducts performances for Sistema Aotearoa in South Auckland. 

Ruth Buchanan to step down from Artspace Aotearoa

“I’m proud of what our team has achieved together with artists and other creatives, we’ve developed a real heart for contemporary art that like all functional, dynamic, systems has included multiple generations, broad-ranging perspectives, ability to reflect and adapt, and ultimately worked to make it possible to think critically in the very fraught current moment," says Ruth Buchanan, who has been director of Artspace on K' road since 2022. Under her leadership, the contemporary art gallery has structure its programme and back of house infrastructural work around a particular question each year. They've included: Which history? Is language large enough? and Do I need territory?

Now, Artspace is on the hunt for its next director, a five-year, full-time fixed-term role likely starting in January 2027.

Sam Elworthy joins Auckland Writers Festival board as Nicola Legat steps down

Auckland Writers Festival Waituhi o Tāmaki has appointed publisher Sam Elworthy to its Board. He is the Director of Auckland University Press and a former President of the Publishers Association of New Zealand Te Rau o Tākupu.

Long-serving board member Nicola Legat is stepping down after eighteen and a half years. Nicola brought a wealth of expertise to the festival, drawing on her leadership of Massey University Press and Te Papa Press, as well as her previous role as Publishing Director of Random House New Zealand. “Nicola has been a guiding figure for the Festival over many years, bringing wisdom, generosity and deep knowledge of New Zealand literature to both the board and the wider festival community. We will miss her enormously,” says Board Chair Charlotte McLoughlin.

Until very recently, I had no idea the Wellington Writers’ Studio existed, and yet it's such a great model! Wellington writer Leila Lois explains the gym-like membership and community structure. 

Over on The Spinoff, Noelle McCarthy writes about what it's like to face people after publishing a memoir including alcoholism and horrible sex. Relatable and important reading for anyone who has drawn on their own life for their artistic practice!

This month’s Global Compass asks a pertinent question for artists: How do you hold onto home when you're oceans away? Genista Jurgens chatted to Hana Pera Aoake to unravel the subject. There’s also a round-up of exhibitions and opportunities overseas. 

Auckland’s Pride festival is quickly approaching, which means if you want to be part of it, you better get started. We asked new Executive Director Blaise Clotworthy how and why artists should register to be part of it.