Zara Stanhope has been appointed director of Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, the Auckland Council-controlled cultural agency Tātaki Auckland Unlimited has announced.
Zara Stanshope is a curator and researcher with more than 30 years of experience in Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia. She obtained her PhD from the School of Art and Social Sciences at the Australian National University in Canberra and has held senior curatorial positions at the Queensland Art Gallery / Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA), the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, where she is returning as director, and the Heide Museum of Art in Melbourne.
In 2019, she curated New Zealand’s presentation at the Venice Biennale and in 2018 and 2021, she led the Asia Pacific Triennials at Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA). In 2021, she joined the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery / Len Lye Centre as director.
‘It’s an honour to re-join the dedicated team at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki and Tātaki Auckland Unlimited to begin the next phase of how the Gallery can offer value locally, nationally and internationally, while building upon the exciting forward programme of exhibitions, educational activities and art-related events’, said Stanhope in a statement. ‘I look forward to working together to ensure our commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and uplifting artists of Aotearoa, Te Moana nui-a-Kiwa and our region within purposeful public programming and in the collection.’
Stanhope will begin her new role on 2 March 2026.
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