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The Auckland arts scene is busy, particularly in the area of visual arts, with some 60 dealer galleries operating. Theater is on the rise and more touring exhibitions and performing companies are coming through the city than ever before. The Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra performs regularly, including at the summer series of free concerts in the park at the Domain, when thousands of music lovers sit with picnics under the stars. The Vector Arena by the harbor attracts plenty of rock acts, too.
This Auckland Council-funded gallery is off-the-beaten art track in the Otara Town Centre, but it's well worth visiting for the extraordinary work it shows. Emerging artists, many from the Pacific, test boundaries not only in materials used, but also with content and techniques. The space is also used by the South Auckland Poets' Collective for performance poetry that plays to packed houses.
Auckland's main venue for the performing arts and medium-size conferences is in the center of the city and often mounts free art exhibitions in its public spaces. There is a good café on the steps leading into the main foyer. The New Zealand Opera performs three annual main-stage seasons here, accompanied by either the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra or the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.
The New Zealand Symphony and Auckland Philharmonia Orchestras perform here in the Great Hall of this Edwardian baroque revival building, which holds up to 1,529 people on three levels. Some say the 1911 building has some of the finest acoustics in the world. It also features the largest musical instrument in the country, the Town Hall Organ. More intimate concerts take place in the Concert Chamber.
This landmark movie theater, now a performing arts center, hosts movie premieres, intimate rock concerts, live theater, and dance parties; some entertainment is family-oriented. The extravagant Moorish Revival–style building with Asian motifs was the talk of the town when it opened in 1929, but the owner, Thomas O'Brien, went bust and fled soon after, taking the week's revenues and a female usher with him. During World War II, a cabaret show in the basement was popular with Allied servicemen. One of the entertainers, Freda Stark, is said to have appeared regularly wearing nothing more than a coat of gold paint. Now the café at the front of the Civic bears her name. When you sit down to a show or movie, you'll see a simulated night sky on the ceiling and giant lions with lights for eyes on stage.
This is the central ticket agency for all theater, music, and dance performances, as well as for major sporting events and it advertises its content months ahead of time. It offers a smart phone app and tickets are delivered by app, email, or collection at the venue.
