Ngā Ara Auaha 2026
Ngā Ara Auaha is the University of Waikato's annual exhibition celebrating the creative work of students across the University.
Open to both undergraduate and postgraduate students, the exhibition showcases a diverse range of creative outputs emerging from academic study, creative practice research, coursework, theses, dissertations, directed studies, and other forms of inquiry.
The exhibition title translates broadly as "creative pathways" and acknowledges the many different ways students generate and communicate knowledge through creative methods. These pathways may include visual art, designing, making, writing, performance, moving image, sound, weaving, digital media, installation, and other creative forms.
Ngā Ara Auaha provides students with an opportunity to share their work in a professional public exhibition at the Gallagher Academy of Performing Arts and to contribute to an annual showcase of creative research and learning at the University of Waikato.
Ready to exhibit your work? Submit your piece via submission form
About the exhibition
Ngā Ara Auaha recognises that creative practice is a powerful mode of research, learning, and knowledge production.
Whether that takes the form of a painting, a woven work, a piece of creative writing, a design project, a film, a digital artwork, or an installation, the exhibition celebrates the many ways University of Waikato students explore ideas, communicate research, and contribute to creative and cultural conversations.
The exhibition aims to create connections across disciplines and to provide a platform where creative work can be encountered by wider audiences beyond the classroom, studio, or research environment.
Call for submissions
We invite submissions from current University of Waikato students whose work demonstrates creative practice undertaken as part of their academic studies or research.
Submissions may arise from:
- Undergraduate coursework
- Postgraduate coursework
- Creative practice research papers
- Honours, Masters or Doctoral research
- Directed Studies
- Thesis or dissertation projects
- Studio-based learning
- Interdisciplinary research incorporating creative methods.
Creative outputs may include, but are not limited to:
- Visual art
- Toi Māori
- Photography
- Design
- Sculpture
- Installation
- Film and moving image
- Audio and sound works
- Digital media
- Performance documentation
- Creative writing
- Illustration
- Textile and fibre practices
- Mixed media works
We particularly encourage submissions from disciplines and programmes where creative outputs may not traditionally be exhibited publicly. We also recognise that students may be developing creative projects across the trimester, and work does not need to be fully resolved at the time of submission. Students are welcome to submit details about work-in-progress creations and provide an indication of the project they are working on; this should not hold anyone back from submitting.
Eligibility
Applicants must:
- Be currently enrolled at the University of Waikato
- Be an undergraduate or postgraduate student
- Submit work connected to an academic programme, paper, research project, thesis, dissertation, directed study, or other study-related inquiry
- Be available to participate in the exhibition process (see exhibition timeline for dates of activities) or installation discussions where required.
Please note:
- Postgraduate submissions may be prioritised where exhibition demand exceeds available space
- Final selections will be made by the curatorial team
- Selections will consider exhibition cohesion, diversity of practice, available space, technical requirements, and readiness for exhibition.
Key dates
| Date | Activity |
|---|---|
| August | |
| All of August | Submissions open |
| September | |
| Monday 14 September |
Submissions close |
| Wednesday 23 September | Selection outcomes communicated |
| October | |
|
Monday 5 October |
Final artwork information and images due |
| Monday 19 October |
Artwork delivery deadline |
| Monday 19–Wednesday 21 October |
Exhibition installation |
| Wednesday 21 October |
Opening event Starts at 5.30pm |
| Thursday 22 October |
Exhibition open to public |
|
April 2027 |
|
| Date TBC |
Artwork collection and return arrangements |