Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery
The Adam Art Gallery (in Māori: Te Pātaka Toi) is a purpose-built arts gallery located in the Kelburn Campus of Victoria University of Wellington in Wellington, New Zealand.
Also recorded as Adam Art Gallery
Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery

Siobhan Leachman · CC0
- Name
- Adam Art Gallery
- Founded
- 1999.
- Headquarters
- New Zealand.
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Documentary summary
The Adam Art Gallery (in Māori: Te Pātaka Toi) is a purpose-built arts gallery located in the Kelburn Campus of Victoria University of Wellington in Wellington, New Zealand.
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Authority files
wikidata · Q4678651 · wikipedia · Adam Art Gallery
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Adam Art Gallery • Native Name — Te Pātaka Toi • Established — 1999 • Location — Victoria University of Wellington, Gate 3, Kelburn Parade, Wellington, New Zealand • Type — Art gallery • Collections — Victoria University Art Collection • Director — Abby Cunnane • Owner — Victoria University of Wellington • Website — https: www.adamartgallery.nz/ • Illustration — Frontage of the Adam Art Gallery. Its facade is made of glass. The Old Kirk building is located to the left of the gallery, and the Students' Union building to the right.
History
History
• Illustration — The back of the gallery On 15 July 1997, Jenny Harper and Tina Barton started the proceedings to establish the gallery. The building was formally opened 21 September 1999, by Sir Michael Hardie Boys, Governor General of New Zealand. The gallery's benefactors include Victoria University of Wellington Foundation, as well as Denis and Verna Adam (who the gallery was subsequently named after following their donation of NZ$1 million in 1998. The gallery was designed by Ian Athfield. It was built between the three university buildings the Old Kirk Building, the Hunter Building and the Student Union Building (on top of the existing "Culliford stair"). The stairs were built in the mid-1960s to link different buildings, but had to be abandoned for safety reasons. The building includes different gallery spaces that hold exhibitions, performances, lectures and talks.
Exhibition
Exhibition
The gallery's first exhibition was Manufacturing Meaning, which included Colin McCahon's painting "Storm Warning". The painting had been controversially sold by Victoria University to fund the Adam's construction. Selected exhibitions held at the gallery have included solo projects by Joseph Kosuth (USA), Joseph Grigely (USA), Fernanda Gomes (Brazil), Zhang Huan (PRC), Destiny Deacon (Australia), Gunther Uecker (Germany), João Maria Gusmão & Pedro Paiva (Portugal), Brett Graham (NZ), Mark Adams (NZ), Gavin Hipkins (NZ), Darcy Lange (NZ), Vivian Lynn (NZ), Pauline Rhodes (NZ) and Billy Apple (UK/US/NZ). Peripheral Relations - the influence of Marcel Duchamp on New Zealand art exhibition curated by Marcus Moore. Selected curated shows at the gallery have include Face to Face: Contemporary Art From Taiwan; Play: Recent Video from Australia and New Zealand; Concrete Horizons: Contemporary Art from China; Breaking Ice: Revisioning Antarctica; 40yearsvideoart.de, and The Subject Now. The Adam Art Gallery's admission is complimentary.
Institutional history
Dated record
Institutional history
The full dated record · 2 entries
1999
Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery established.
1999
Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery was established or created on 1 January 1999.
Context
Primary material
Context
The circumstances in which Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery stands. Located at Victoria University of Wellington. Recorded at coordinates -41.2886, 174.7690. Established or created on 1 January 1999. Gallery lies within Wellington City. Situated in New Zealand. Recorded as art museum.
Documents and archives
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Adam Art Gallery”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q4678651: Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery
Unverified · Wikidata
Building awards
In 1999 the architectural firm Athfield Architects was two awards for the building, the NZIA Resene Branch Architecture Award: Community & Cultural, and the NZIA Resene Colour Architecture Award: Community & Cultural. In 2000 it revcieved a regional award, the NZIA Resene Central Regional Architecture Award: Community & Cultural. In 2025 it won the Enduring Architecture Award at the Wellington Architecture Awards (NZIA).
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Art and Education. Adam Art Gallery at Victoria University of Wellington.
- 2.Manson, Bess. Godfather of the arts Denis Adam changed cultural landscape. Stuff. 18 October 2018.
- 3.Morrison, Tina-Marie. Art gallery prepares for opening. Dominion. 2 September 1999.
- 4.Athfield Architects: Adam Art Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand, 1999. Floornature. 10 January 2003.
- 5.Catherall, Sarah. Storm warning for gallery opening. Sunday News. 19 September 1999.
- 6.Pondering Duchamp in Wellington – EyeContact. eyecontactmagazine.com.
- 7.Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery.
- 8.2025 Wellington Architecture Awards shortlist. NZ Institute of Architects.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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