With Te Matapihi ki te Ao Nui set to open in March 2026, Wellington City Libraries are marking the occasion with a design a library card competition.

The redesign of Te Matapihi ki te Ao Nui, Wellington’s new central library, is rooted in the natural world – and the competition theme te taiao/nature is designed to reflect that.

The competition is open to all ages in two categories (13 years and under and 14 years and over). The winning artworks will feature on the new limited-edition library card, and be used by thousands of Wellingtonians – and the winners will receive a $100 Unity Books voucher.

“As we prepare to reopen the doors of Te Matapihi, we invite creative minds of all ages to help design the library cards that represent our diverse and vibrant community, and the exciting new chapter for our new central library,” says Mayor Tory Whanau.

“Imagine your design in the hands of thousands of people across Wellington, unlocking a world of knowledge and imagination!” adds the Mayor.

Wellington City Libraries Manager Laurinda Thomas says: “With building works almost finished, our efforts are now focussed on moving back into Te Matapihi ki te Ao Nui.

“We are thankful to have had the support of our library-loving community since its closure in 2019, and we can’t wait to show people the strengthened and reimagined building.

“The library card design competition is one way our community can get involved in the lead-up to the reopening. We know that Wellingtonians will have brilliantly creative submissions – and we can’t wait to see them all.”

Pick up an entry form and drop-off submissions at a local library or enter online at wcl.govt.nz/librarycardcomp before the closing date of Sunday 20 July.

Judging is planned for August with the panel including representatives from mana whenua and the project team for Te Matapihi ki te Ao Nui Central Library.

Before entering be sure to read the terms and conditions which are also online at wcl.govt.nz/librarycardcomp.

Background Information:

• The building is opening in March 2026.
• Athfield Architects and Tihei Limited are bringing the elements of te taiao (the natural environment) to life to create an inclusive and accessible community space for all.
• It will be a modern, uniquely Wellington space that brings our mana whenua history and stories back to our waterfront. It will house integrated Library, City Archives, Service Centre and Capital E services.
• Our last order of library cards was 30,000 (split across three designs).

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