Urban Art & Sharp Corporation Create Digital Art Gallery In The Foyer Of Wellington Railway Station

The Urban Art Foundation in association with Sharp New Zealand has opened a new three-screen digital art gallery in the foyer of the Wellington Railway Station.

This is the second major transport hub showing Urban Art exhibitions, with Wellington International Airport providing two screens next to the Check-In counter almost exactly one year ago.

The new three-screen gallery in the entrance foyer is bringing art to an estimated ten thousand passengers who use the Railway Station each day. Four Urban Art exhibitions are currently on show, with a minimum of 20 minutes required to view most of the works.

Andrew Hagen, Urban Art's creative director, said: "We are delighted to be up and running. Our sincere thanks go to Sharp New Zealand for providing the wonderful digital displays, the Wellington City Council and KiwiRail for helping us in our continued quest to take art out of the archives and put it where people can see it.

“KiwiRail has given New Zealand artists a wonderful opportunity to show their work and has provided their rail passengers the opportunity to pause, reflect and enjoy art for a few moments during their busy workday.”

The exhibitions will be updated approximately every ten weeks, in conjunction with other Urban Art presentations around the country that feature on oOh!media digital street and shopping mall signage.

The current exhibitions include works from The Adam Portraiture Awards 2020, The International Urban Art Exchange with Finland (opening in Turku on June 29), the acclaimed In Isolation exhibition, and the City of Sculpture exhibition, presented in association with the Wellington Sculpture Trust.

KiwiRail’s Group General Manager Property, Stephanie Campbell, says the station is a wonderful space to house the exhibition.

“The exhibition is there for people to take in and to enjoy and has our beautiful heritage building as a backdrop. We are so pleased to be able to open up this space as a digital gallery for talented artists and to see our venue used in new and exciting ways,” says Ms Campbell.

Sharp New Zealand’s Brand Manager, Ash Harder, added that “Giving Kiwi art a medium to shine through technology is a dream for Sharp. We’re so proud to be part of this initiative and hope that visitors to the station will enjoy a moment of inspiration on their journeys.”

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