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Applications are now invited for CIRCUIT’s 2026 Matariki Commission. Curated by CIRCUIT’s Kaitiaki Kiriata Tanya Ruka and supported by CIRCUIT and Wellington City Council, this project seeks proposals from artists for a new single-channel video work responding to the 2026 Matariki theme, Matariki herenga waka – For Everyone.
Matariki herenga waka, literally “binding or mooring the waka together,” speaks to unity, shared journeys, and the weaving together of many pathways without requiring them to become the same.
Artists are encouraged to think with Indigenous ways of knowing that emphasise relationship, movement, and collective responsibility, where knowledge is carried through story, ceremony, and lived practice.
The commissioned work will be presented on Masons Screen for six weeks, from 9 June to 21 July 2026. Masons Screen is a public art project supported by Wellington City Council and programmed by CIRCUIT. Located on Masons Steps between Courtenay Place and The Terrace, the screen sits midway between nodes of transport, shopping, government, and business. Thousands of commuters pass by every week.
This year, Masons Screen becomes a liminal space, a threshold – a gateway - where past, present, and future meet, and where daily life flows into the realm of the stars. Subtle traces linger like ripples through time. Artists are invited to explore Matariki as a portal into interwoven realms of ancestors, stars, and memory. Where hidden stories emerge. This is a time for dreaming the impossible, offering a chance to glimpse new stories of being within the flow of everyday life.
Due to the nature of public art, all proposed works must be suitable for audiences of all ages. Given the incidental nature of viewership, artists are encouraged to consider works that communicate through visual rhythm, atmosphere, and gesture. Audio should be silent or ambient.
The artist fee for this commission is $1,000. Matariki 2026 will be celebrated on 10 July 2026.
Due to the nature of public art, all proposed art works must be suitable for all viewers regards of age, and we strongly suggest that audio is either silent or ambient.
Dates:
Application Date: 12pm Tuesday 20 January
Screening: 9 June-21 July.
What to include in your proposal:
· 1 page pdf proposal on your project (what do you want to make and why?)
· A bio outlining your artistic practice and/or working relationship to artist moving image practice
· Up to 3 links to previous video works or other artwork
Please send proposals to:
Mark Williams, director@circuit.org.nz
(please note that this address will be unmonitored 21 Dec-20 Jan)