Toi Pōneke Arts Centre to move to Wellington’s waterfront

Wednesday, 2 July 2025

An impression of an artist’s space at the new site for Wellington's Toi Pōneke Arts Centre.

Toi Pōneke Arts Centre will move to a new site near Wellington’s waterfront and Te Ngākau Civic Square from June next year.

Wellington City Council has agreed to a 20-year lease of 3-6 Market Ln and has already budgeted $6 million in its long-term plan to design and fit out three floors. Market Lane has hosted businesses such as Trade Me and Xero.

Included will be nine limited-term artist studios, a studio for artists in residence, six arts offices, a workshop space, multi-purpose hireable spaces including for dance and drama rehearsal, a gallery, and finally, a cultural/pōwhiri (welcoming ceremony) space.

3-6 Market Ln, on Wellington’s waterfront, will be the new location of Toi Pōneke Arts Centre.

The current location of the arts centre, two neighbouring buildings on Abel Smith St in the city’s Cuba precinct, will remain open until early June 2026.

Abel Smith St has been the arts centre’s home since 2005. It was opened to provide an affordable space for creatives displaced by the construction of the Wellington Inner City Bypass, which forms part of State Highway 1.

The council had been exploring options for the arts centre’s future for several years.

The new Market Lane space is significantly smaller than the Abel Smith St location, providing 1959sqm across three levels, versus the current 2850sqm across two buildings.

However, the council says the new site is more vibrant and accessible and that it will continue to try and find other space for artists.

The trust that owns the Abel Smith St buildings was open to leasing those spaces to artists in the short term after June 2026, spokesperson Perry Lark said.

It is unknown if the rental rates in the new premises will match the Abel Smith St rates. The council said it would offer limited-term rental agreements.

Toi Pōneke is spread across two buildings on Abel Smith St at present.

Wellington deputy mayor Laurie Foon said Market Ln represented a new era for Toi Pōneke. She assumed the new rental rates would be aligned with the current rates.

There would be more shared and interconnected spaces for artists to mingle at Market Ln, she said.

While parking had been raised as an important factor by users of the Abel Smith St site, Foon said Market Ln would only offer parking for people with disabilities, plus space for loading and unloading.

An impression of an office space at the new site on Market Ln.

There were nearby metered car parks and car parking buildings and the address was 700m from the Courtenay Place central bus stop.

The current site was not fit for purpose, Foon added. While it had an amazing legacy, it was time to move on.

The new site was a compromise on floor space, but was a “signature”, “visual” location in the heart of the city, and near to the yet-to-be-realised national music centre that’s being developed around Civic Square.

An impression of a shared office space at the new site.

“There’s never going to be enough space for what we want to achieve or aspire to,” she said.

The council would continue to look at its own building stock, and negotiate with private building owners, to find more space for artists in other pockets of the city, Foon said.

She acknowledged the shift would be hard for artists who had called Abel Smith St home, but said it would be a fantastic outcome if that site was retained for creatives’ use.

An impression of a gallery space at the new site.

Foon did not believe the 20-year Market Lane lease was significantly more expensive than the current lease it was paying at Abel Smith St. The council said the figure was commercially sensitive.

Mark Raymond, a freelance designer who rents space at Abel Smith St, said it was disappointing the council was unable to work out a deal to stay there.

Abel Smith St had better access to a supermarket and nearby dining options, and dedicated parking, he said.

He cited a 2022 survey of Toi Pōneke users that found 80% were either satisfied or very satisfied with the services and facilities at Abel Smith St.

Richard Benge, executive director of Arts Access Aotearoa, an organisation based out of Abel Smith St, was pleased the council had found an accessible, functional building that could welcome disabled people.

Applications for limited-term studios, offices and the workshop at Market Ln will open in late August. All details, including rental costs and application forms, will be available on the Toi Pōneke website then.

Costs for the multi-purpose hireable spaces will be detailed by the end of the year.