City Gallery

Galleries and museum key icon.
Galleries and museum key icon.

Monday10:00 am – 5:00 pm.

Tuesday10:00 am – 5:00 pm.

Wednesday10:00 am – 5:00 pm.

Thursday10:00 am – 5:00 pm.

Friday10:00 am – 5:00 pm.

Saturday9:00 am – 1:00 pm.

SundayClosed.

Te Ngākau Civic Square, Wellington

04 913 9032

Closed for refurbishment — Reopening 10 October 2026. 

The hub for art-life in New Zealand’s capital, City Gallery Wellington is a contemporary art gallery with a dynamic programme of exhibitions and events, and an international reputation.

The exhibitions are both challenging and inspiring, making this a gallery very worth a visit. Be sure to check out the famous Nikau Gallery Café located in the gallery building too.

Make sure to check out the divisive and unmissable Quasi installation (you’ll see ‘him’ as soon as you enter Te Ngākau Civic Square). After almost three years perched atop Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, Ronnie van Hout’s Quasi has relocated to the roof of City Gallery Wellington. The five-metre public sculpture is a partial self-portrait of van Hout, and is based on scans of the artist’s own body.

Whether you love the sculpture or it falls too deeply into the Uncanny Valley for your liking, it makes for a great (perhaps slightly unsettled) laugh with friends and is sure to spark a conversation. After all, isn’t that what great art is all about?

Words by Zack Holmes & Photography by Supplied

Information not correct? Report an error

Location

Te Ngākau Civic Square, Wellington

Nearby Places

Good as Gold

A colourful window display at Good as Gold in Wellington.
Place Wellington
Fashion key icon.

​​From the giant yellow smiley faces peering down at you to the curiously carpeted walls and display stands, Good as Gold in Wellington is a fashion store that likes to do...

Iko Iko

Cards and posters on display inside Iko Iko Cuba Street, Wellington shop.
Place Wellington

The home of all things fun and fancy free, Iko Iko will treat you to something just a little different.

The Library

A booth beneath a shelves of books at The Library bar Wellington.
Place Wellington
Bars key icon.

Hidden behind an unassuming ground floor entrance, The Library is another well-known establishment that overlooks the go-go crowd of Courtenay Place.

Salut Pies

Cabinet full of pies and the front counter at Salut Pies.
Place Wellington
Cafes key icon.

What do you do when you can’t find a decent pie and coffee for your 5am commute? You make them yourself, of course and in the process, create a Wellingtonian cult...

Similar Places

Toi Store at Pātaka

The inside of Toi Store at Pātaka.
Place Porirua

Gallery and museum gift shops are sometimes seen as a nice-to-have, a neat place to peruse some trinkets on the way out.

Stackhouse Knives

A man and woman looking at the camera.
Place Hutt Valley
Galleries and museum key icon.

Sparks fly, hammers ring out, and raw steel slowly takes shape under steady hands at Stackhouse Knives, a working studio where craftsmanship is celebrated and shared.

Light House Cinema Cuba

Seats and tables sitting underneath movie posters in the waiting room.
Place Wellington
Theatre and performance key icon.

Light House Cuba creates the ultimate film going experience and all you need to do is sit back and relax.

Jane Blackmore Gallery/Studio

Inside a gallery.
Place Wellington
Galleries and museum key icon.

Wellington artist Jane Blackmore’s Lyall Bay gallery is a space that feels as much lived-in as it is curated, where the line between studio and gallery blurs in the...