Artspace Aotearoa welcomes three new artist-run spaces to Karangahape Road

Artspace Aotearoa is delighted to announce the launch of three new artist-run spaces as part of a new artist residency programme developed in partnership with the Karangahape Road Business Association (KBA).

The programme supports artist-led initiatives by providing temporary access to vacant commercial spaces along Karangahape Road, transforming them into galleries, studios and places for creative exchange. Through this partnership, artists are given the freedom to develop ambitious projects while inviting the public into their processes through exhibitions, events and open studio opportunities.

The three Artspace Aotearoa-supported residencies are:

• Moat, founded by Ziggy Humberstone and Reuben Gabor, located in the Ironbank Building will open with their exhibition, Excavation exhibiting their own and collaborative artworks.

• Mirror Spectrum Journal Division (MSJD), led by Millie Dunstall, also based in Ironbank. MSJDs inaugural exhibition, Other World Bird, brings together works by Joe McDonald, Alex McFarlane, Lucy Meyle, Jake Morton and Tess Walker Elliott.

• HAUMI E STUDIOS, founded by Carmel Aroha Salmanzadeh, Maraky Vowells and Kaliyah Lima, located at 151 Karangahape Road. Operating as both a working studio and exhibition space, HAUMI E STUDIOS opens with the exhibition TĀUA TĀUA.

The wider residency programme also includes artists Nayesha Waiti-Mulholland and Olivia McGregor, selected by the Karangahape Road Business Association.

The programme demonstrates the value of collaboration between artists, local organisations and property owners in supporting the city's creative ecology. By activating vacant spaces, these residencies create new opportunities for artists while bringing contemporary art into the everyday life of Karangahape Road.

As Felixe Laing, Kaiwhakapā Communications Coordinator at Artspace Aotearoa, explains:

"Artist-run spaces are vital places for experimentation, collaboration and creative development, playing an important role in supporting the next generation of artists and creatives. Through this partnership, we're able to support artists with space to explore new ideas while creating opportunities for the public to encounter their work and creative practices. Supporting these practices is central to building a resilient and evolving contemporary art sector, and we're excited to see these artists contribute to the creative life of Karangahape Road and beyond."

All five residency spaces will open to the public for the first time during First Thursdays on Thursday 6 August 2026. See the full schedule on KBA's website.

We invite everyone to discover these new artist-run spaces, meet the artists behind them, and celebrate the important role artist-led initiatives play in Aotearoa's contemporary art ecology.