2026 Auckland Art Show

Wow what a weekend! Really enjoyed my first experience at the Auckland Art Show down at the Viaduct Events Center.

I must admit the weeks leading up to this event were a mixed bag of nerves, excitement, and a fair bit of panic painting (side note: panic painting usually results in questionable output versus time and stress invested). A lot of my worry was purely fist-time uncertainty - not knowing how the labels were going to work, anxiety around hanging a whole collection by myself, even just not having seen the space IRL meant that things felt a bit opaque. In the end, the prep and set-up ended up running smoothly like a dream - shoutout to my previous experience with market preparation and load-in and out logistics!

Nothing could have prepared me for how I would feel when people started walking into the show though - Oh my gosh I wanted the ground to swallow me. Watching people take in my work was equal parts thrilling, joyful and terrifying. After the initial shock, I did greatly enjoy all of the many conversations had with new friends about colour, the importance of art and the need for hope and joy in these crazy times. I am forever grateful to have met so many people who were delighted by my work and enthusiastic about big colour. Huge thank you to my new collectors if you are reading this! It was also really fulfilling to get to actually hang out with art friends new and old. Running your own business and making art in a studio can get sort of lonely, so any chance to be out in the world having real life rambles is a win in my books.

By all accounts there was record attendance, with sold out opening shows and 120 artists taking part. Showing at an art fair was one of the items on my goals list for 2026, so I am really pleased to have been able to achieve it and will look forward to taking part again next year!