Te Tuhi Marks 50th Anniversary With ‘50 Years On’ Exhibition Showcasing Archival Ephemera - 1975–2025

In 2025, Te Tuhi celebrates five decades of platforming contemporary art, providing artist development opportunities, and fostering community connections.

To mark this milestone, we present 50 Years On, a special exhibition that uncovers the rich history of the gallery through a fascinating collection of archival material.

Opening on 6 April and running until 21 December 2025, this exhibition offers a rare glimpse into the evolution of Te Tuhi, from its beginnings as the Pakuranga Community and Cultural Centre in 1975 to its current standing as one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s foremost contemporary art spaces.

We will be celebrating the opening day of the exhibition with a birthday cake designed by Fiona Pardington, who has recently been selected to represent Aotearoa at the Venice Biennale in 2026. She designed the cake for the Fisher Gallery’s 10th anniversary in 1994, and we will be recreating it for our 50th in 2025.

Everyone is invited to join Te Tuhi on Sunday 6 April to visit 50 Years On and celebrate its Golden Anniversary with a Fiona Pardington-designed cake!

50 Years On reveals an extraordinary selection of photographs, documents, and ephemera accumulated in Te Tuhi’s archive over fifty years of activity. These materials highlight the trail of contemporary art and community activation that has defined the gallery's legacy, shedding light on the artists, exhibitions, and events that have shaped its identity.

Te Tuhi’s history traces back to 1969, when a visionary group of women including Iris Fisher and Nanette Cameron founded the Pakuranga Arts Society, which led to the opening of the Pakuranga Community and Cultural Centre on 6 April 1975. The later establishment of the Fisher Gallery in 1984 paved the way to the opening of Te Tuhi in 2001, as the amalgamation of the two entities and related buildings.

Curated by Te Tuhi’s archivist Peter Derksen, 50 Years On traces the gallery’s journey through over 700 exhibitions, showcasing both local and internationally acclaimed artists, and celebrating the enduring relationships between artists and the community. This archival exhibition is an invitation to explore such stories and memories through the traces they’ve left behind, reflecting on the legacy of Te Tuhi and the forward-thinking individuals who helped ignite its spark.

About Te Tuhi

Te Tuhi is a leading platform for contemporary art in Aotearoa New Zealand, with a programme consciously and continually shaped towards rigorous, adventurous and socially engaged artistic experimentation. Te Tuhi’s primary focus is on commissioning both national and international artists to make new work by creating stimulating contexts for artists to respond to and work within.

Te Tuhi presents work in its galleries in Pakuranga and Parnell, around Auckland and Aotearoa, internationally and online. Te Tuhi offers artists and curators opportunities to develop their practice through studios, awards, residencies and internships both in Aotearoa and overseas. Integrated with its exhibitions, Te Tuhi provides public programmes for general audiences and for schools.

Te Tuhi has been embedded in its local community for 50 years, delivering arts and cultural experiences for schools, young people, community groups and people of all backgrounds and ages. Arts Out East is Te Tuhi’s community arts brokering programme for the Howick Local Board area in East Auckland. Te Tuhi operates O Wairoa Marae, an urban marae in Howick; Te Tuhi Café, Aotearoa’s first training café for people with intellectual disabilities; and Te Taiwhanga Taiohi, East Auckland’s Youth Space in Botany Town Centre. Te Tuhi’s building in Pakuranga also hosts a vast range of independent community groups.

© Scoop Media