Aotearoa Art Fair rescheduled

Organisers of Aotearoa Art Fair have announced new dates for the 2022 edition of the Fair, now scheduled for Wednesday 16– Sunday 20 November this year. The postponement of New Zealand’s premier contemporary art event comes in response to the ‘Red Traffic Light’ restrictions currently in place in the country, limiting public gatherings to 100.

“A lot of effort goes into staging live events – not just by us as organisers but also our galleries, their artists, our partners and contractors,” said Fair co-directors Stephanie Post and Hayley White. “While it is both inevitable and disappointing not to be going ahead in March as planned, we are now looking forward to November, and optimistic that by then we will be able to present a Fair showcasing the outstanding art that has already been made… and more.”

The November Fair will welcome the same 40 galleries as planned for March, all showing new work by more than 180 artists, to around 10,000 visitors at The Cloud in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland for five days.

The 2021 edition of Aotearoa Art Fair generated more than NZ$10 million in art sales, all of which went to the participating galleries and their artists. The Art Fair is considered a significant event in ensuring artists get paid for the work they do and enabling dealer galleries to continue to support their artists.

The postponement has been made possible by the extension of the Event Transition Support Payment scheme run by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, allowing the Fair to push ahead rather than be forced to cancel altogether.

In the meantime, organisers are urging the public to visit the Fair’s participating galleries, all of which remain open under current restrictions: “The best way to support an artist is to buy their work from a dealer gallery and now is a great time to do this if you can.”

Those who have already purchased tickets to the March 2022 Fair will be contacted directly to have tickets transferred over to the new dates or refunded.

Tickets for the November Art Fair are on sale online here, offering savings on the door price.