Arts Council
Nelson

At Arts Council Nelson, our mission is to promote, initiate and support projects ​and activities that stimulate and strengthen the​ artistic and cultural life of our communities.

About us

YOUR LOCAL ART CONNECTOR

We work with individuals and organisations across our region to facilitate all kinds of creative opportunities.

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What’s on at Refinery ArtSpace

REFINERY ARTSPACE

Vandal

Art or Vandalism? Bringing graffiti culture into the gallery to examine the fine line between creative expression and public transgression. Through gritty oil and acrylic paintings, Jayde McDonald et al, explore urban mark-making, local street histories, and the voices of writers working in and around Whakatū. The exhibition doesn’t sanitise the streets—it asks who gets to decide what belongs, and why.

January 26 - February 28

REFINERY ARTSPACE

REFINERY ARTSPACE

Paintings by Nicholas

presents a quietly immersive body of work where colour, surface, and rhythm do the heavy lifting. Moving between abstraction and surrealism, Clark’s paintings unfold slowly—inviting viewers to linger, notice subtle shifts, and bring their own readings to the work. It’s an exhibition grounded in process and intuition, where painting is treated as a space for reflection rather than resolution.

January 26 - February 28

Analog Decay Nicholas Males

Nicholas Males examines what lingers as analogue technologies slip into obsolescence. Working across object, print, and video, the exhibition juxtaposes forgotten systems with those emerging to replace them. Abstracted prints drawn from 1980s telephony advertising sit alongside video stills and scans of obsolete devices, collapsing past futurisms into the present.

At the centre of the exhibition are Arduino-powered LCD phones that feel both ominous and devotional—small, altar-like machines whose endlessly scrolling text issues warnings like a digital town crier announcing the end times. analog Decay reflects on technological faith, decay, and the uneasy space between nostalgia and inevitability in a rapidly shifting digital landscape.

January 26 - February 28

A VR walkthrough proudly supported by our partners Uniquely Nelson…

RAW 25

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Refinery ArtSpace

Refinery ArtSpace is committed to stimulating and strengthening the artistic and cultural life of Whakatu, supporting a diverse programme of engaging community-driven and/or contemporary exhibitions, projects and events.

Comprising three adaptable gallery spaces and two large workshop facilities, Refinery ArtSpace is also the home to the Arts Council Nelson Team.

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What We Do

Nelson Clay Week

Ceramists from across Aotearoa come together to learn, teach, build new connections and celebrate all things clay in a biannual festival.

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Nelson Jewellery Week

A biannual celebration of contemporary jewellery in Aotearoa, for makers, wearers, and viewers.

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Changing Threads

The annual National Contemporary Textile Fibre Art Awards, celebrating artists who stretch the boundaries of fibre and textile art.

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Community Arts

We support and promote community arts opportunities across the Te Tauihu region, including administering funding and offering advice.

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Make It Nelson

Make It Nelson is a curated programme of hands-on workshops running throughout June 2026 in Whakatū Nelson.

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Arts Development Agency

We are transitioning to a future-focused development agency to better support the region.

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What’s On

We feature creative events, exhibitions, opportunities, and 
more happening in Te Tauihu, Top of the South.

Want to submit your own listing? Submit below or email lil@acn.org.nz.

UPCOMING EVENTS
Featured
Resonance - Music-making and community in Motueka
Dec 1
Resonance - Music-making and community in Motueka

An exhibition celebrating Motueka’s instruments and clubs

Hou Rongo: Moriori, Music and Manawa
Dec 3
Hou Rongo: Moriori, Music and Manawa

A multi-sensory experience

Immerse yourself in Hou Rongo: Moriori, Music and Manawa, a multisensory experience celebrating the culture of New Zealand’s indigenous Moriori people. Blending ancient wisdom with innovative technology, Hou Rongo transports visitors to Rēkohu (the Chatham Islands), amid the realms of the etchu (deities).

International Rubery Book Award
Dec 5
International Rubery Book Award

The Rubery Book Award is now open for submissions! An internationally recognised prize celebrating outstanding work from independent authors and small presses, the Award offers a powerful platform for writers seeking global visibility.

Beer Chair Competition
Jan 13
Beer Chair Competition

2026 Competition to design & construct a miniature chair

First prize $3,000 Runner up $500

Suter Exhibitions
Jan 16
Suter Exhibitions
Summer Movies Al Fresco in Nelson
Jan 16
Summer Movies Al Fresco in Nelson
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Social Media

Our three latest exhibitions are open and we had a wonderful kick off celebration . Vandal | Jayde McDonald Paintings by Nicholas Analog Decay | Nicholas Males Three remarkable shows that deserve some time spent with them. On until 28th February.
Working across object, print and video, Nicholas Males juxtaposes forgotten technologies with the systems emerging to replace them. His prints abstract 1980s telephony advertising, pairing it with video stills and scans of obsolete devices. His Ardui
Jayde McDonald presents a body of work that confronts the tensions around graffiti. Painted in oil and acrylic, these gritty urban scenes argue for graffiti as a legitimate art form rather than mere vandalism, while remaining honest about the street
You are warmly invited to this fabulous exhibition opening: Monday 26th January from 5.30pm All Welcome. Paintings by Nicholas Grounded in existentialism, Nicholas Clark sees himself as an eternal student of painting, and like all great painters,
Last days to view RAW 25 | Work outside the edge. We have so enjoyed this exhibition and for those of you who would like to see the show but can't make it in to the gallery, our awesome friends @uniqelynelson have produced a VR walkthrough for us. Y
Come and hear a dynamic young string quartet perform a free 45min concert Refinery ArtSpace. We welcome everyone to come along, and bring anyone you think might be curious to hear some classical music in a relaxed environment. The Antipodes Quartet
Free Workshop! Thanks to @nelsoncitycouncil through their Arts and Heritage Partnership Grant Preston McNeil gets down and nerdy about all the technical aspects of building an arcade machine. Each participant gets a joystick kit with all the compo
RAW 2025 celebrates artists with no formal or traditional art training. It's a chance to work outside the edges, with individuality and inventiveness. Take a walk through the gallery and soak up this truly dynamic show, on now!
Beautiful arcade games designed by artists across Aotearoa, including Gina Kiel, Flox, Otis Frizzell, Joe Sheehan, and Otis Chamberlain. in collaboration with designer Preston McNeil. Arca Arcade “Round One” emits a distinctive flavour t
On Tuesday, we had awesome opening night for our latest exhibitions! Pop into the gallery to play real arcade games as part of Arca Arcade, featuring artistic collaborations under the meticulous direction of designer Preston Khan McNeil. Immerse yo

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