A new-look Auckland Art Fair for 2016

Auckland Art Fair has teamed up with one of New Zealand’s foremost event organisers, North Port Events, to deliver New Zealand’s premier contemporary art event next year in the Cloud on Auckland’s waterfront from May 25-29, 2016.

Established in 2005, Auckland Art Fair has since grown to become a significant regional platform where every two years major New Zealand and Australian galleries showcase important work by dozens of leading artists. The fair has more than tripled in size since 2005 with the most recent event in 2013 attracting 10,000 visitors and generating sales of more than $3.5 million.

In practical terms, this means the event has grown to the point that it now requires the skills of a professional event team, according to Auckland Art Fair director Jennifer Buckley.

“Auckland Art Fair has reached the end of the beginning and it’s now ready to enter its next phase of development – without losing its focus, its values, or its intimacy,” says Ms Buckley, who will continue at the helm. “Continuity will be ensured by the ongoing input of members of its founding board, the NZ Contemporary Art Trust, and their art-specific expertise and knowledge.

“It’s a measure of our success that one of New Zealand’s top event organisers has acquired the fair. North Port Events is a perfect fit for Auckland Art Fair, bringing world-class event organisation, knowhow, and resources to the table. This means we will now have a dedicated, fulltime event management team in place to help us build a more stable platform and ensure the long-term sustainability of the fair.”

North Port Events CEO Dona White says she is thrilled to take on the task of helping stage "New Zealand’s foremost art event."

“It’s a dream come true in many ways for us. As an art buyer and long-time supporter of the arts, I’ve admired Auckland Art Fair for many years,” she says.

As in the past, a panel of arts professionals, including leading gallerists and curators from New Zealand’s public institutions, will assess these submissions against a variety of criteria and from that process a shortlist of galleries will be invited to participate in Auckland Art Fair 2016.

North Port Events is an event management companies, staging consumer and trade exhibitions in Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch each year, including The Food Show, Fine Foods New Zealand and Facilities Integrate, NZ’s newest trade show for the facilities management and system integration industries.