The New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pūkenga Whakaata was founded in 1990 as a charitable trust. We have been in our permanent home in Shed 11 on Wellington’s waterfront since 2012.

We enable audiences to encounter portraits of New Zealanders who, in all their diversity, have shaped our country’s development or influenced the way we think about ourselves. Through portraiture, we offer perspectives on ourselves, our history, our creativity, and our place in the world.

The Gallery relies almost exclusively on donations from individuals and organisations for its ongoing work, and on the sponsorship of the Adam Foundation for its biennial portrait competition. We would not exist without the hard work and dedication of our many volunteers who serve on our Board of Trustees, as team members and on our committees.

The Gallery relies almost exclusively on donations from individuals and organisations to fund for its ongoing work, and on sponsors to fund its annual portrait competitions – the Adam Portraiture Award and the Kiingi Tuheitia Portraiture Award. We would not exist without the hard work and dedication of our many volunteers who serve on our Board of Trustees our committees and as team members.