Courtenay Place Light Boxes

Overview Wellington City Council is calling for exhibition proposals from Māori artists and curators for the Courtenay Place light boxes, as part of the Matariki and Puanga 2027 exhibition programme. About The Courtenay Place light boxes are a New Zealand first, forming a highly public exhibition space in the midst of Wellington's central city environment. The eight 3-metre high steel and glass LED light boxes were designed as an integral part of Courtenay Place and were unveiled in May 2008. They are located at 77-97 Courtenay Place. The light boxes encourage people to reflect on this busy and diverse urban centre, even if just for a minute. Each exhibition lasts for four to six months, and Wellington City Council seeks exhibition proposals from curators and artists once a year. Current exhibition The current exhibition, Te Whakanui i a Matariki by artist Diane Prince (Ngā Puhi, Ngāti Whātua and Ngāti Kahu), runs from Saturday 20 June to Sunday 4 October 2026. In her artist's statement, Diane Prince reflects on the navigational feats of her tupuna and on the containers, woven and otherwise, that carried plants and food to new island homes, noting that these containers have become conveyers of food knowledge, including cooking techniques, storage, harvesting, traditional rituals, tribal alliances and celebrations. She describes the growing acknowledgement of Matariki and Puanga/Puaka as part of a wider recognition of a cultural world view beyond the dominant colonial construct, and notes that in 1995 Ngāti Pōneke named the festival Te Whakanui i a Matariki as part of that renewal. The images presented are drawn from stories told to her by her mother and her kuia. Diane Prince (Ngā Puhi, Ngāti Whātua and Ngāti Kahu) was born in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington in 1952 and educated at Wellington Teachers' Training College, Victoria University, and the University of Auckland. She is a multidisciplinary artist working in painting and weaving, exhibiting nationally and internationally since the 1980s, with major exhibitions including Veiled Legacy (2001) at Te Whare Toi City Gallery Wellington, Korurangi: New Māori Art (1995) at Toi o Tāmaki Auckland Art Gallery, and the touring survey Diane Prince: Activist Artist (2024-2025), curated by Gina Matchitt. Her work is held in major collections throughout New Zealand. Diane's work is a visual expression of her strong stand on Māori rights and Māori women's issues. She was a researcher for the Bastion Point land occupation between 1977 and 1978, and has collaborated with artist Shona Rapira Davies in Native Bird Productions over the last decade. She taught for many years at Te Wānanga o Raukawa in Ōtaki and currently lives on the coast in Kāpiti with her whānau. Diane recently completed a mural project with Pipitea Marae based ropu, Ngāti Pōneke Māori Arts, in partnership with KiwiRail with support from artist Ruth Robertson-Taylor. The mural celebrates 30 years of the festival of Matariki at Pipitea Marae and faces the main railway line into Wellington. Diane is represented by Bowen Galleries in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington. Eligibility Open to Māori artists and curators How to Apply Wellington City Council is calling for Courtenay Place light box proposals from Māori artists and curators for the Matariki and Puanga 2027 exhibition programme. Proposal deadline: Monday 19 October 2026 Further detail is provided in the Call for proposals Matariki and Puanga 2027 document (237KB PDF). Information and images from previous light box exhibitions are also available. Enquiries Contact: Pippa Sanderson, Senior Arts Advisor Mobile: 021 454 039 Email: pippa.sanderson@wcc.govt.nz