We exist to help Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki continue its mission to capture, protect and share art that’s important to New Zealand. The Foundation funds exhibitions, acquisitions, publications, education, and people.
$25 million +
Raised for Auckland Art Gallery since 2005
$21 million +
Gifted to Auckland Art Gallery redevelopment project 2011
$116 million +
Value of artworks gifted through the Foundation to the Auckland Art Gallery collection (includes the promised gift of Julian and Josie Robertson).
$5.1 million +
Donations pledged since 2016
$4.5 million +
Endowment fund in 2024
$2 million +
Gifted to Auckland Art Gallery projects since 2016
Auckland Art Gallery Foundation was established in 2005 to lead the fundraising campaign for Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki’s award-winning redevelopment which opened in 2011. Now our mission is to grow and maintain the endowment fund that fuels Auckland Art Gallery’s future.
In 2020 the Foundation supported a new curatorial position dedicated to Pacific art. Ane Tonga was the inaugural appointment and she continues in this important role today. In 2022 Ane curated her first, critically acclaimed, exhibition Declaration: A Pacific Feminist Agenda. From 2024 the Foundation is supporting a curatorial assistant role, helping emerging curators to develop their practice. In February 2024 the Gallery welcomed Ruth Minh Ha to the role as the inaugural curatorial assistant.
The Foundation has funded significant exhibitions including Light from Tate: 1700s to Now 2023, Declaration: A Pacific Feminist Agenda 2022, Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera: Art and Life in Modern Mexico 2022 and Robin White: Something’s Happening Here 2022, and Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Maori Art 2021. In 2023/24 we are thrilled to be supporting Ever Present: First People’s Art Australia, Guo Pei: Fashion Fantasy/ 郭培:时装之幻梦, and will be the principal funder of a new triennial, Aotearoa Contemporary.
The Foundation’s fund has been used to acquire important pieces of art for the permanent collection. The Foundation also facilitates bequests to Auckland Art Gallery collection, including the promised gift of Julian and Josie Robertson.