Public
lectures
in Aotearoa

10:00am

Poetry – What's it for? Tusiata Avia

Writers on Mondays

Poet Tusiata Avia examines what poetry is for, who it serves, and how to make it more accessible.

3:30pm

Careers in Heritage

An introductory talk on careers in arts and heritage for senior high school and university students.

5:00pm

Auckland Launch of Against the Tide: Aotearoa New Zealand in World Affairs, Volume V, 2006-2025

Book launch and expert panel discussion on New Zealand's role in world affairs from 2006–2025, featuring editors and contributors to the fifth volume of Against the Tide.

6:00pm

Behind-the-Scenes Herbarium Tour: Cook Islands

Behind-the-scenes tour of Auckland Museum's Herbarium collection of dried plant specimens, celebrating Kūki 'Airani Language Week.

1:00pm

Treasury Guest Lecture: Governing in 2026: Populism, Geopolitics, and AI in a Tumultuous World

Prof. Ngaire Woods examines governance challenges in 2026, addressing populism, geopolitics, and artificial intelligence.

5:00pm

The Middle East Conflict: Reshaping the Global Order and New Zealand's Future (Part Two)

Panel analysis of the Middle East conflict and its implications for global order and New Zealand, featuring geopolitical experts Dr Geoffrey Miller, Mahdi Ghuloom, and Ollie Law.

6:30pm

Beyond Reform: The Future of Planning Practice in Aotearoa New Zealand

Megan Couture (Beca, NZPI) explores the future direction of planning practice in Aotearoa New Zealand beyond recent reforms.

8:15pm

Barbara Forever

Documentary on experimental filmmaker Barbara Hammer, her pioneering lesbian cinema, and fifty-year creative career, directed by Brydie O'Connor.

1:00pm

Ngā Ara Whetū Pecha Kucha | August 2026

Fast-paced Pecha Kucha session featuring insightful lectures on topics centred on people and the planet.

5:30pm

Inaugural Lecture by Professor Anna Jackson

Professor Anna Jackson explores how poetry differs from other forms of communication in her inaugural lecture.

6:00pm

Ihaka Lecture Series 2026

Annual lecture series exploring critical, creative, and responsible approaches to data analysis and interpretation.

6:00pm

Nathan Wilson

Crit Sessions

Artist Nathan Wilson presents works-in-progress for live critique and discussion as part of the CRIT exhibition.

6:30pm

Tracey Moffatt – Under the Influence

Peter Turner Memorial Lecture

Australian artist Tracey Moffatt discusses her three-decade practice as a visual storyteller working in photography and film.

10:30am

Members lecture series | Lindauer’s legacy: 100 years on | Kotahi rau tau | Lecture 3

Lecture 3 in Auckland Art Gallery's Members lecture series exploring Gottfried Lindauer's artistic legacy 100 years after his death.

12:00pm

Canterbury Plains from Cashmere Hills by Doris Lusk

Volunteer guide Susan Bidwell discusses Doris Lusk's Canterbury Plains from Cashmere Hills in the exhibition He Kapuka Oneone: A Handful of Soil.

4:10pm

I just love Brussels sprouts: Understanding how first and second language English speakers recognise and use verbal irony

Lydia Chan examines how first and second language English speakers recognise and interpret verbal irony.

10:00am

40 Years of Pride

Brad Poulter signs his memoir 'Built For This', marking 40 years since New Zealand's homosexual law reform.

11:00am

Furniture, art and exhibition making with Carin Wilson and Justine Olsen

Craft Curriculum

Carin Wilson and Justine Olsen discuss exhibiting furniture, design moments in Aotearoa, and the future of exhibition making in this field.

12:00pm

Verification limbo: Digitalizing identity, schools, and protracted exclusion in northern Thailand

Dr Janepicha Cheva-Isarakul examines how digitalizing identity and school verification systems exclude stateless children in northern Thailand.

1:30pm

Queering the archive with The Charlotte Museum

Gus Fisher Gallery and The Charlotte Museum explore queer archiving practices and the Homosexual Law Reform Act's 40th anniversary through rare ephemera and conversation.

2:00pm

Curating et al.'s the fundamental practice

A curator talk exploring curatorial practice and methodology at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki.

3:00pm

Toi Art Performance: ‘That’s you Mugwort!’

Ann Shelton presents a commissioned performance work for the exhibition Ahi Tāmau: Māreikura Whakaahua | Slow Burn: Women and Photography.

10:00am

New Zealand String Quartet Storytellers

New Zealand String Quartet at Toi Tauranga Art GalleryStorytellers: Transform in Tauranga Behind every piece of music is a story and across their 2026 Season, the New Zealand String Quartet (NZSQ) is diving into them.

10:00am

Sacrifice and Rebellion – Claire Mabey and Rachael King

Writers on Mondays

Novelists Claire Mabey and Rachael King discuss their new books for young readers and how fiction explores challenging tyranny and courage.

12:00pm

Culinary Arts and Gastronomy Winter Series

Culinary Arts and Gastronomy Winter Series

AUT's winter series on culinary arts and gastronomy, curated by the School of Hospitality and Tourism in collaboration with Pacific Food Lab.

2:00pm

Yang Zi in conversation with Peter Shand

Yang Zi in conversation with curator Peter Shand at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki.

6:00pm

Wellington Launch of Against the Tide: Aotearoa New Zealand in World Affairs, Volume V, 2006-2025

Wellington launch of Against the Tide: Aotearoa New Zealand in World Affairs Volume V (2006–2025), featuring editors and expert contributors discussing NZ's engagement in global affairs.

1:00pm

Indigenous alterity, sexual indifference? On the enduring separation of mana wahine from mana Māori in cultural anthropology

Professor Yvette Russell and Symon Palmer examine how mana wahine has been separated from mana Māori in colonial ethnographies and anthropological scholarship.

5:30pm

Do biota want to collaborate?

Dr Jo Burzynska explores relationality and difference for artist-scientists and ecological activists engaging with biotechnology.

6:00pm

The future of craft education in Aotearoa with Carin Wilson, Natalie Robertson, Richard Fahey and Tessa Forde

Craft Curriculum

Panel on the future of craft education in Aotearoa, drawing on Carin Wilson's 1983 'Realising the Potential' paper and perspectives from education, making, and practice.

6:30pm

Architectus XL – Joining the Dots

Fast Forward

Patrick Clifford of Architectus discusses the architectural practice he co-founded, its notable projects and evolution.

2:00pm

Address by Richard Griffith

Richard Griffith, Principal Adviser at MFAT, discusses developments, trends, and New Zealand policy in the Pacific region.

5:00pm

The future of tertiary education—Perspectives from the parties

Parliamentary party tertiary education spokespeople debate and discuss the future of education in Aotearoa.

6:00pm

How do I learn? A lecture by Kimberley Moulton

AGENCY

Dr Kimberley Moulton explores Indigenous temporality, museum collections, and curatorial practice as a framework for restoring the spirit of place and Ancestral belongings.

6:00pm

How do I learn?

AGENCY

Kimberley Moulton explores learning practices as part of a curatorial intensive examining agency, action, and imagination.

6:00pm

A curatorial intensive in three questions—How do I learn? How do I act? How do I imagine?

AGENCY

Three-day curatorial intensive with Clémentine Deliss, Kimberley Moulton, and Megan Tamati-Quenell exploring curatorial practice through learning, action, and imagination.

2:00pm

If cows didn't like mustard

Screening of Lucy Meyle and Ziggy Lever's film exploring materiality, agency, and image production through an 1882 photographic disaster.

2:00pm

How do I act? A lecture by Clémentine Deliss

AGENCY

Clémentine Deliss presents the Metabolic Museum-University, a curatorial model for remediating collections, and introduces her forthcoming Département des Pièges exhibition at Kanal-Centre Pompidou.

2:00pm

How do I act?

AGENCY

Clémentine Deliss explores agency and action as part of a curatorial intensive symposium presented by Artspace Aotearoa and Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery.

7:00pm

How do I imagine? A lecture by Megan Tamati-Quennell

AGENCY

Megan Tamati-Quennell explores curatorial imagination through her project Ihi for Sharjah Biennial 16, examining how Indigeneity operates as a generative force in exhibition-making.

7:00pm

How do I imagine?

AGENCY

Megan Tamati-Quennell explores imagination and agency in this lecture, part of a three-question curatorial intensive.

10:00am

Who’s that girl? Kate Camp and Noelle McCarthy

Writers on Mondays

Kate Camp and Noelle McCarthy discuss their memoirs exploring teenage identity, the supernatural, and 1980s culture.

12:00pm

Artist talk - Yuki Kihara with curator Sophie Thorn

Artist Yuki Kihara discusses her works in Not a solitary feeling, including the new installation Winds of Change (2026).

5:30pm

Hamilton Public Lecture

Hamilton Public Lecture

A public lecture examining lake restoration in the context of climate change and what recovery looks like for polluted waterways.

12:00pm

Exploiting trust and distorting reality: Online romance fraud, artificial intelligence, and prevention in New Zealand

Tia Bhana examines online romance fraud, AI's role in its evolution, and prevention strategies in New Zealand's blurred digital-physical landscape.

5:00pm

The Business of Trust: Reputation, Risk and Corporate Credibility

How organisations build and maintain trust as a core business asset in an era of misinformation and public scrutiny.

6:00pm

Lecture by Kimberley Moulton

Question Time

International curator Kimberley Moulton introduces her curatorial work through the lens of Artspace Aotearoa's 2026 question "which history?"

6:30pm

Integrating Toi Māori & Pūrākau across built-environments

Professor Johnson Witehira explores how Māori arts and narratives can be integrated into architectural and urban design practice.

6:30pm

Verity - Women Shaping the Future

A gathering for women to discuss creating a free, just, compassionate, and hopeful Aotearoa New Zealand.

6:00pm

Elvis Booth-Claveria

Crit Sessions

Artist Elvis Booth-Claveria presents works-in-progress for live critique and discussion as part of the CRIT exhibition.

1:00pm

A close reading of claude cahun and marcel moore

Curators examine Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore's Surrealist portraiture, tracing their rediscovery and enduring interpretations.

3:00pm

Seashells and razorblades: An ode to surrealist cinema

Gus Fisher Gallery screens iconic Surrealist films from the 1920s to 1940s, featuring works by Buñuel, Dalí, and others.

5:00pm

activation by rosamund philpott and Hun Lynch

Rosamund Philpott presents a live activation responding to Studies for a Keepsake, exploring queer resistance and creative partnership through movement and live sound by Hun Lynch.

6:00pm

Walk on the Wild Side: Gallery Encounters

Drop-in gallery encounters with wildlife enthusiasts in Auckland Museum's natural science galleries.

10:00am

Ōrongohau – Best New Zealand Poems 2025

Writers on Mondays

Selected poets read their work featured in Ōrongohau | Best New Zealand Poems 2025, ahead of National Poetry Day.

8:30am

Ngā hua a Tāne-te-wānanga - AUT Māori Research Symposium 2026

AUT Māori Research Symposium 2026 celebrates connections within the research whānau and builds on previous symposia.

10:00am

Lecture Series: Māori Art Through the Lens of Te Ao Māori

We are excited to announce Julie Paama-Pengell's four-part lecture series, Māori Art Through the Lens of Te Ao Māori, on Wednesdays, 5–26 Aug 2026, 5.30–7pm.

6:00pm

2026 Sir Frank Holmes Memorial Lecture in Public Policy

The Rt Hon. Helen Clark delivers the Sir Frank Holmes Memorial Lecture, part of the School of Government's 50th anniversary celebration of its Master of Public Policy programme.

10:00am

CLAY by Little Big Events — Adult Workshop

This CLAY festival, join us for an early access preview and Adult Clay Workshop, Fri 28 Aug, 5.30–7.30pm, brought to you by Little Big Events.

10:00am

Design and architecture bus tour with Carin Wilson and Jade Kake

Craft Curriculum

Guided bus tour of design and architecture sites across Auckland led by Carin Wilson and Jade Kake, exploring Māori design practice and Wilson's 50-year career.

10:00am

CLAY by Little Big Events — Children's Workshop

This CLAY festival weekend, get creative with the kids in this hands-on ceramic workshop, brought to you by Little Big Events!

10:00am

Uncanny Valley – Pip Adam, Terri Te Tau, and Tim Corbalis

Writers on Mondays

Three novelists discuss their new works, writing the weird present, and possible futures.

5:30pm

Hamilton Public Lecture

Hamilton Public Lecture

Lecture on honouring whakapapa, reo, and kaupapa that sustain Māori identity and leadership.

5:30pm

Energy Matters: How OpenStar is Reimagining Energy for Humanity

OpenStar Technologies co-founder charts the evolution from early fusion research to the levitated dipole concept and company founding.

9:00am

Pacific Research Symposium 2026: Futures of Pacific-Led Science

Symposium showcasing Pacific-led and Pacific-relevant research, innovation, teaching and engagement across the Faculty of Science at University of Auckland.

6:00pm

Deep Dive: Lecture by Atarangi Anderson

Artist Atarangi Anderson explores her practice of making and research in Māori barkcloth revitalisation and intergenerational knowledge transmission through aute.

6:00pm

Keciano

Crit Sessions

Artist Keciano presents works-in-progress for live critique and discussion in a public crit session.

10:00am

Year of the Horse – Abby Letteri and Marty Smith

Writers on Mondays

Two writers discuss their memoir approaches to horses and equine life.

5:30pm

Hamilton Public Lecture

Hamilton Public Lecture

How do ideas become change? Explore what art, gardens, and the Enlightenment can tell us about building institutions that matter.

5:30pm

The Aotearoa New Zealand Economy: What’s working, what’s not, and what could we be doing differently?

Panel discussion examining New Zealand's economic performance and policy alternatives ahead of the 2026 General Election.

6:30pm

Raising the Bar 2026

UC Christchurch hosts an evening of engaging speakers and conversations across 10 venues in the central city.

6:00pm

Millie Dunstall

Crit Sessions

Artist Millie Dunstall presents works-in-progress for live critique and discussion as part of the CRIT exhibition.

6:00pm

Tolkien and the Classics: from the Five Ages to the Long Defeat

Explores J.R.R. Tolkien's reinvention of Classical narratives, focusing on his use of decline mythology in The Lord of the Rings.

5:30pm

Local leaders: In discussion

Wellington political leaders discuss key issues facing the city ahead of the 2026 General Election.

1:00pm

Open Forum: A school beside the school?

Forum exploring what contemporary art education might look like if reimagined outside traditional university structures, embedded in communities and artist-led initiatives.

12:00am

6th International Symposium on the 'Ocean in a High CO2 World'

International scientific symposium on ocean acidification and climate change, bringing together researchers, policymakers, and practitioners.

4:00pm

Hui Rangahau Graham Nuthall Research Symposium 2026

Faculty of Education symposium celebrating Professor Graham Nuthall's legacy and influential classroom research in Aotearoa New Zealand.