Toi Pōneke Art Centre, WIFT and Massey University are proud to host a special presentation from director Rob Sarkies (Out of the Blue, Pike River, Scarfies) and screenwriter Fiona Samuel (Piece of My Heart, Consent: The Louise Nicholas Story, Pike River) to launch the Wellington Write Room Screenwriter's Residency for 2026. 

Join artist Katy Cottrell as she chats with academic researcher Matteo Collina and director of the Victoria University Coastal Ecology Lab – Alice Rogers. Alice and Matteo will talk about their work with marine reserves from a scientific perspective and how this has inspired the artworks by Katy Cottrell and Rick Allender for their exhibition Taputeranga: Above and Below.

In the third of three artist’s talks about Azúcar/Sugar, the latest installation from With Lime, join Dr Miki Seifert and Dr Arini Loader at ‘The Colonisers’ Banquet Table’. Dr Seifert will talk about how sugar was transformed from an exotic luxury item into a global ubiquity. Dr Loader will use te reo Māori as a gateway to talk about sugar’s associated health and societal issues along with alcohol and other colonial introductions. 

In the second of three artist’s talks about Azúcar/Sugar, the latest installation from With Lime, hear about Dr William Franco’s journey from travelling in Mexico to learn how to make Mexican sugar skulls for Dia de Muertos to exploring the connection between sugar and colonisation of the Americas to expanding the boundaries of this traditional method of sugar art.

In the first of three artist’s talks about Azúcar/Sugar, the latest installation from With Lime, learn how Dr Miki Seifert used the concept of Wunderkammer to explore the connection between sugar, colonisation, global trade and climate change.

Dr Seifert will be joined by Dr April Henderson who will talk about the impact of sugar, colonisation and global trade in the Pacific.

This panel gathers a remarkable group of artists, and academics. Rooted in creative practice, scholarship, and lived experience, each speaker brings a perspective that challenges dominant narratives and illuminates alternative ways of seeing, knowing, and belonging. Together, they explore how voice, vision, and artistic expression become powerful tools for personal and collective change.

Meet ‘Les Grandes Dames’ - the artists of Creating Connections – Anna Hicks, Anna Prussing, Catherine Croucher, Gael O‘Donnell, Jill Bowman, Katherine Morrison and Marilyn Daly.

Les Grandes Dames will be facilitating a tour of the Creating Connections exhibition. They will discuss their own work and describe some of the techniques they used to make these textiles.

Join sisters artist Hannah Schickedanz and poet Jessica Arcus for a facilitated talk about their collaborative exhibition Human. Nature.

Join artists Rosalie Koko, Mauatua Fa’ara-Reynolds and Aroha Mattchit-Millar in a talk delving deeper into the thinking behind the works in the exhibition Whetuurangitia, moe mai raa. Facilitated by curator Israel Randell this talk will provide a space for artists to talk to their works and larger artist practices. 

Join artists Keri-Mei Zagrobelna, Kohai Grace and Vianney Parata as they discuss the works in the exhibition Aho Hononga and their respective artforms.

Join us for tea or coffee and meet artist Alison Leauanae as she leads you through her exhibition Saili – Seek.

Join sound artist Ben Leonard (BJ Leo) and NZSM associate professor Dugal McKinnon as they demonstrate the Iko icosahedral speaker and discuss working with spatialisation and 3d audio, along with Ben's work on spectral fission.

Please join us for an online talk with artists Yumoi Zheng (China), Isadora Lao (Aotearoa) and Angel C Fitzgerald (Aotearoa). In the stream, they will share about their favourite food and talk about their current projects and creative practice

Join us for a tea or coffee and meet the artist Amanda Smith as she leads you through her exhibition This is the Life That Was to reveal the personal stories that have inspired each work..

Join artists Connah Podmore and Johanna Mechen, and writer Flora Feltham, as they discuss some of the inspiration behind Podmore's exhibition Ordinary Devotion, and the influence that domestic environments has had over their respective practices.

Come ‘binnekijken’ and join the artist Elisabeth Vullings for a ‘look inside’ her exhibition – Gehaakte Gordijntjes - Crocheted Curtains. In this guided tour, the artist will lead you through the exhibition to explain the personal stories associated with each artwork.

Join Yon Yi Sohn, Moonhee Han & Eun Jung Jang, who will talk about their artistic journey through different mediums over the years, and the ideas and development of their exhibition Listening to Lines, which they have collaborated on. A Q&A session will follow.

Join artists Matt Tini, Maija Stephens, Renati Waaka, and Elena Rei as they discuss their thoughts around the exhibition, what brought them together, and their reflections on this collaboration. The talk will touch on their individual relationships to contemporary Māori identity and how their art practices help them reconnect to and affirm this.

Kerry Ann Lee will facilitate a discussion with the artists of the exhibition Sailing Lanterns. Chyna Lily, Simon L Wong, Grace Ko, Matt Yee and Jacqueline Trinh will share narratives about their Asian/New Zealand ethnicity and what it means to be an Asian artist living in contemporary Aotearoa.

Join us for an afternoon kōrero with artist Sam Clague who will be discussing his current exhibition Under Heaven’s Heel. Touching on some of the reoccurring motifs and symbols depicted in his paintings and sculptures and how they are inspired by the works of Albrecht Dürer and Philip Guston.

Stuart will “lead” a walk-through of his exhibition The Hand of Dog, where he will discuss how his beloved canine companion Roo has played muse to his artistic output over the past 5 years.

Please join us for an in-depth discussion with Photographer Simon Mark, who will be in conversation with curator/educator Heather Galbraith, talking about his new work in Liminal at Toi Pōneke Gallery.

You are warmly invited to a talk between Clara Ehrenwerth, artist in residence at the Goethe-Institut in Wellington, and Claire Mabey, director of Verb Wellington Festival. Join us for an interesting discussion with drinks and nibbles.

Join artists Stevei Houkāmau and Jamie Berry on a walk-through talk of their exhibition Ira Tangata Ira Atua.

Join us for an informal discussion with Maisie about her new solo exhibition Where Does it Hurt?

Join Bailee in her exhibition In Bathing, Bask in the Toi Pōneke Gallery for a casual conversation around the inflatable sculptures she has created.

Join us for a lunchtime talk with Matilda faser and Mark Amery. Tea and coffee provided.

Join Write Room resident Stella Reid (BURBS, Second Unit), 2019 Write Room resident Abi King Jones (The Fifth Eye, Operation 8, Hot Air) and mentor Vicky Pope (Savage, Gardening with Soul, Two Little Boys) in a discussion about script writing in relation to The Write Room residency at Toi Poneke.

Join us for a chat over lunch with Poneke based artist - Chris Ulutupu as we see what he has been up to over lockdown.