The Aotearoa Art Fair Sculpture Trail – a curated outdoor exhibition of large-scale works by leading contemporary artists from across Aotearoa — is now open, and it’s well worth a visit.
Running from 16 April to 14 May 2025, the public trail offers a rare opportunity to experience world-class sculpture in an open-air setting, thoughtfully placed throughout one of the city’s most iconic waterfront precincts.
Presented by Viaduct Harbour Holdings Ltd, in partnership with Aotearoa Art Fair and with support from Tātaki Auckland Unlimited, Auckland Council, and Perpetual Guardian Sculpture on the Gulf, the Sculpture Trail reflects Viaduct Harbour’s long-term commitment to championing arts and culture in public space. By supporting this ambitious project, Viaduct Harbour is helping to strengthen the city’s cultural fabric, transforming one of the city’s most recognisable precincts into a vibrant setting for contemporary art and encouraging broader public engagement with the creative sector.
“Celebrating the arts is integral to Viaduct Harbour, and this initiative reflects our ongoing belief that great cities are shaped by their cultural experiences. As a place where culture and connection thrive, we’re honoured to showcase extraordinary works by artists from across Aotearoa in a setting that represents the energy, creativity, and vibrancy of our city,” Viaduct Harbour’s Celeste Labana-Clayton says.
An initiative of the Aotearoa Art Fair, the Sculpture Trail expands the Fair’s reach beyond its four-day programme (1- 4 May), transforming Auckland’s waterfront into a living gallery and bridging the Fair’s commercial hub at the Viaduct Events Centre with the wider public offering a deeper, more accessible encounter with contemporary art for city locals, tourists, families and the art-curious.
“Our vision for the Aotearoa Art Fair has always extended beyond the walls of the main event,” says Aotearoa Art Fair’s Sue Waymouth.
“While the Fair serves as a vital commercial event for galleries and artists, we’re equally committed to building cultural experiences that engage the wider public. The Sculpture Trail – made possible through the generous support of Viaduct Harbour – reflects that ambition. It’s about breaking down barriers to art and creating opportunities for all Aucklanders and visitors to experience the richness of contemporary practice in their everyday surroundings.”
Alongside the nine main works installed across Viaduct Harbour from 16 April, two additional sculptures by Brett Graham and Professor Robert Jahnke will be installed at the entrance to the Aotearoa Art Fair during its core dates (30 April – 4 May), further connecting the indoor fair experience with the city’s public space.
From monumental forms to intimate gestures, the trail of nine artworks invites all – locals, families, tourists, and the art-curious – to experience sculpture in a new dimension: free, open-air, and beautifully integrated into the landscape of this prized waterfront precinct.
This is the first curated outdoor sculpture trail in Auckland’s city centre in recent times. The full Sculpture Trail map and more information is available here.
