The Aotea Centre is a performing arts and events centre in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

. Located at the western edge of

Aotea Square Aotea Square is a large paved public area in the CBD of Auckland, New Zealand. Officially opened in 1979 by Sir Dove-Myer Robinson next to Queen Street, it is used for open-air concerts and gatherings, and markets and political rallies. In No ...

, off Queen Street, the centre provides a cultural, entertainment and conventions venue space in the heart of the city, and is managed b
Auckland Unlimited
(which also operates the Auckland Town Hall and The Civic, both in the vicinity of the Square). The origin of its name is Motu Aotea, the

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

name for

Great Barrier Island Great Barrier Island ( mi, Aotea) lies in the outer Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand, north-east of central Auckland. With an area of it is the sixth-largest island of New Zealand and fourth-largest in the main chain. Its highest point, Mount Hobson ...

, which is the largest offshore island of New Zealand and approximately 90 km from downtown Auckland. The main construction of the centre was finished in 1989, having cost NZ$128.5 million. The centre officially opened the following year. Designed by the City architect Ewen Wainscott in 1974, the building was not actually built until more than a decade later. It won the

NZIA Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA) is a membership-based professional organisation that represents 90 per cent of all registered architects in New Zealand, and promotes architecture that enhances the New Zealand livi ...

Silver Medal award. Costs escalated greatly during construction resulting in several features being omitted. Due to poor acoustics, the main auditorium required a refit in the mid-1990s and underwent refurbishment in 2012. In the wake of this, the theatre won the inaugural Best Medium Venue at th
Entertainment Venues of New Zealand (EVANZ)
awards in late 2013. The Centre provides a range of foyers, gallery spaces, and function rooms as well as the 2,139 sea
Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre
(formerly ASB Theatre, renamed in 2019) and the much smaller, 186-sea
Herald Theatre
which is mainly used by small independent theatre companies. In 2000 a design competition was held for the Aotea Precinct, and the winner was the landscape architecture-urban design team consisting of Ted Smyth, Rod Barnett and Dushko Bogunovich. In 2011, an upgrade o
Aotea Square
also included a major facelift of the public stairs in front of the Centre, including creating a cafe space
The Terrace Café
under a large veranda open to the Square. The Centre has hosted the 2023 FIFA Womens World Cup to be held in Australia and New Zealand. Several significant New Zealand artworks are on display in the foyers of the Aotea Centre, including the acclaimed digital work,
Ihi
', by

Lisa Reihana Lisa Marie Reihana (born 1964) is a New Zealand artist. Her video work, ''In Pursuit of Venus nfected' (2015), which examines early encounters between Polynesians and European explorers, was featured at the 2017 Venice Biennale. Early life ...

, or the very artistic Aotea Cartouche by Dennis O'Connor made from Eritrea marble and

Mt Somers Mount Somers ( mi, Te Kiekie) is a small town in Canterbury, New Zealand, nestled in the foothills of the Southern Alps. The population in the 2001 census was 2,307. Due to its scenic location, it has seen growth in the number of holiday homes ...

limestone. Out front they have a huge attraction, Waharoa. ‘Waharoa’ is a seven metre high gateway and stands at the entrance to Aotea Square, transforming it into a marae or meeting place. The Aotea Centre also holds Terry Stringer's sculpture of

Dame Kiri Te Kanawa Dame Kiri Jeanette Claire Te Kanawa , (; born Claire Mary Teresa Rawstron, 6 March 1944) is a retired New Zealand opera singer. She had a full lyric soprano voice, which has been described as "mellow yet vibrant, warm, ample and unforced". Te ...

, made of bronze, this statue sits on Level 3 of Aotea Centre, adjacent to Door D into the Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre and was unveiled by

herself. Finally we have Taula, the Anchor Stone. Donated from the people of the

Pacific Islands Collectively called the Pacific Islands, the islands in the Pacific Ocean are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of se ...

This was given to

at the 1998 Pacific Vision Conference and places itself by the level 2 stalls at the front of the Aotea Centre, The arrow points to the north-east, in the direction of central Polynesia. The arrangement also suggests Aotearoa New Zealand’s North and South Islands. There have been many shows and concerts at the Aotea Centre. They have a very wide variety, from cultural shows to DJ's. The acclaimed Nepal Festival was held at this venue in previous years.

References

External links

Photographs of Aotea Square
held in Auckland Libraries' heritage collections. Buildings and structures in Auckland Theatres in Auckland Arts centres in New Zealand Convention centres in New Zealand Tourist attractions in Auckland 1980s architecture in New Zealand Auckland CBD {{NewZealand-struct-stub