Thistle Hall Community Venue

02/06/2026

This incredible week long art festival is kicking off tomorrow and we can’t wait to see you there! Please join us at opening night tomorrow night (Tuesday) at 5pm, or drop in during the week.

Art and Pain: Living with chronic pain through art, is a powerful and deeply personal exhibition by one of our migraine community members, Mara Elwood. Through her work, Mara shares insights into living with chronic pain, offering both reflection and connection through creative expression.

This is more than an exhibition – you’ll also have the opportunity to become part of the experience. Visitors are invited to contribute to a co-created art installation and try one of the techniques used in a daily year-long practice piece Mara will be exhibiting.

Mara is also using this exhibition as a fundraiser for Migraine Foundation Aotearoa New Zealand, which we’re incredibly grateful for. All proceeds from sales of the show, including ceramic pieces, Amurigumi creatures, and upcycled canvas multimedia art will be donated to the foundation to support our advocacy work.

Please support Mara and her exhibition by bringing your friends and family along during the week and sharing with you network.

Event details

When: 2–7 June 2026
Where: Thistle Hall Gallery, 293 Cuba Street, Te Aro, Wellington

Opening night

Tuesday 2 June 2026, 5pm–7pm (gallery open from midday)

Exhibition hours:

Wednesday 3 June: 12pm–6pm
Thursday 4 June: 12pm–6pm
Friday: 1pm–6pm
Saturday: 11am–5pm
Sunday: 11am–3pm

Thistle Hall Community Venue
This incredible week-long art festival is kicking off tomorrow and we can’t wait to see you there! Please join us at opening night tomorrow night (Tuesday) at 5pm, or drop in during the week.

29/05/2026

Last few days to see 's exhibition The Ground Will Learn My Name

26 - 31 May 2026

"When I am no longer where the land reared me, I will still walk dirt roads, feel grass beneath my feet, take breath from the trees and flowers, allow the strange to become familiar; and, in doing so, the ground will learn my name."

This show explores ideas of migration as an earth right, belonging, the power of ancestral and new lands, and the connection between land and humanity.

22/05/2026

In addition to the Gallery's current exhibition 'Small Print', is 'Overlooked': a capsule exhibition showing by artists and sisters Sian Cass, Gretchen Buwalda, Penny Cass, showcasing a range of sculptures and paintings.

20/05/2026

Next in the Lightbox is the second of three works by Stacey Fraser-Allen , The Penthouse Cinema. Showing now until June 3rd.

These acrylic sculptures are a love letter to place, intricate architectural portraits reimagined through finely detailed layers of cut linework. Each piece begins as one of her hand-drawn illustrations, rooted in observation and nostalgia, before being carefully translated into sculptural form.

Wellington-based artist Stacey Fraser-Allen creates vibrant, playful, and nostalgic works inspired by New Zealand’s culture and architecture. Her art celebrates the memories tied to homes, places, and communities — the spaces that shape who we are.

20/05/2026

Thanks so much to Gary Steel for the write up on Thistle Hall!

The story traces the important role the hall has had in Wellington's alternative and punk music culture since its construction in 1907.

Have a read in our bio.

14/05/2026

A wonderful chance to browse and but affordable contemporary printmaking by New Zealand Artists

The SMALL PRINT exhibition series is back for 2026/27, and we are kicking things off in the heart of the capital!

Presented by the Print Council of Aotearoa New Zealand, this travelling exhibition features over 80 talented printmakers from across the country.

Every work is A4 size and priced at just $100, making it the perfect opportunity to snag an original piece of fine art. From woodcuts and etchings to monoprints and lithographs, come explore the incredible diversity of contemporary printmaking.

When: Tuesday, May 19 – Sunday, May 24, 2026
Hours: 10 am – 6 pm DAILY
Where: Thistle Hall, 293 Cuba Street, Wellington

Whether you’re a seasoned collector or looking for your very first piece, there’s something here for everyone. See you on Cuba Street!

12/05/2026

Stacey Fraser-Allen's Lightbox installation looking great at night.

The bright side to less daylight hours is more lit up lightbox hours! 'Antrim House'' is the first of three installations by Stacey. Her vibrant, playful, and nostalgic works are inspired by New Zealand’s culture and architecture. Her art celebrates the memories tied to homes, places, and communities — the spaces that shape who we are.

12/05/2026

In The Gallery: Coming into Being - Te putanga mai, an exhibition by Gabriela Wittmann

Coming into Being is a process of unfolding the hidden trauma from childhood.

The artist has used her own story of discovery and transformation, photographically documented with the focus on movement and dance. Based on her own choreography in particular environments.

"Now I can be seen where I came from and who I am becoming now."

It is about making conscious decisions fueled by unconscious processes.

It is the emergence of something unknown into the here and now, into the reality and presence of our being.

Photographer credit:
These photographic series have been taken over a period of more than forty years.

Agnes Niehorster, Untitled, photograph
Megan Blennerhassett, Untitled, photograph
Megan Blennerhassett, Untitled, photograph
Adele Arnold, Kotuku, photograph