Nau mai, haere mai ki NorthArt

NorthArt has been Kaipātiki's contemporary art gallery since 1998. We are a not-for-profit, community-governed gallery — a place where the people of the North Shore make, see, learn about, and live with art.

Admission is always free. Our space is wheelchair accessible and disability friendly, and there is free parking all around the gallery.

Where to find us

You'll currently find us at 1 Ernie Mays Street, Northcote Town Centre, in the former Northcote Citizens Hall — our home while the new Community Hub is built in the Town Centre. Rather than waiting behind our own walls, we're using this time to bring art out into the community: look for NORTHART artist projects, pop-up exhibitions, and workshops across the wider Kaipātiki area through to the opening of our new purpose-built gallery in the Community Hub.

We serve the Kaipātiki communities of Beachaven | Kai Moene, Birkenhead | Maunga-Nui, Chatswood, Birkdale, Northcote Point | Totara Tahi, Northcote Central | Te Kopua o Matakamokamo, Glenfield | Opua Wananga, Puke Koi, Waikahi Katoa, Hillcrest, Marlborough, Totara Vale, and Bayview.

Our Vision

A thriving arts hub that represents, connects and inspires the Kaipātiki community and beyond.

Our Mission

To enhance the economic and cultural wellbeing of Aotearoa New Zealand's arts community by championing diverse arts projects in Kaipātiki. Reflecting Te Tiriti o Waitangi values, we advocate for community-led engagement and cooperation to cultivate creative, inclusive spaces and support artists and audiences alike to enjoy and celebrate the arts.

Our Values

Aroha — care and compassion. We place audiences and artists at the heart of what we do, creating a welcoming, inclusive and vibrant space where everyone is cared for and everyone belongs.

Auaha — creativity and innovation. We enrich people's lives through high-quality, stimulating contemporary art, and foster the curiosity to learn, make, and explore creative ways of interpreting the world.

Kotahitanga — unity and connection. We bring communities together through culture and the arts, embracing the goals of Auckland's arts and culture strategy, Toi Whītiki: integrating arts and culture into our everyday lives.

Tuakiritanga — identity. NorthArt is a place where people of all backgrounds can freely give expression to their ideas, their beliefs, and their sense of who they are — honouring the many identities and cultures that make up Kaipātiki.

What we're working toward

Everything we do serves four commitments:

Backing artists to make a living. We champion the economic as well as cultural wellbeing of artists and arts educators — through exhibition opportunities, artwork sales, paid teaching, and professional development.

Connecting creativity across Kaipātiki. A programme of around ten exhibitions and activations each year, curated by a community programming panel, alongside artist projects in community houses, schools, marae, rest homes and public spaces across the peninsula.

Making art part of everyday life. Every exhibition comes with hands-on workshops — child-friendly, open to all abilities, with free and subsidised places — so that anyone in Kaipātiki can move from looking at art to making it.

Growing community through participation. We honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi in practice: a dedicated Māori-led exhibition each year, deepening relationships with mana whenua, and programmes shared in te reo Māori, English and Mandarin to reflect the communities we serve.

A registered charity

The NORTHART Society Incorporated is a registered charity (Charities Commission number CC20349). We are a member of the Safe Space Alliance, which helps people identify, navigate, and create safe spaces for the LGBTQIA+ community worldwide.

With thanks

NORTHART's operation and development is possible only through the generous support of Auckland Council, the Kaipātiki Local Board, The Lion Foundation, and the Birkenhead Licensing Trust — and through our members, volunteers, and the artists and audiences who make this gallery what it is.