Te Pūrongo ā-Tau
Experience Wellington Annual Report 2022/23
Working together with and for Wellington to create remarkable experiences that generate vitality, strengthening the city we love.
Showcasing the sparkle of The Only Dream Left
Reuben Paterson: The Only Dream Left brought golden glitter and kaleidoscopic colours to City Gallery Wellington this year, charming visitors. The show offered a rare opportunity to experience the breadth and scope of renowned New Zealand artist Reuben Paterson’s (Ngāti Rangitihi, Ngāi Tūhoe, Tūhourangi) work.
Remarkable pieces, including David and Mona Lisa, a life-sized glittered bear and a panther, and Nigh made with diamond dust, drew crowds of over 1,800 to experience the sparkling exhibition during opening weekend in February. Over 45,000 manuhiri enjoyed this significant show which ended in June.
Live theatre offers a bite of performance magic
Bite-Size Treats continued Capital E’s legacy of bringing live theatre made just for tamariki to our youngest audiences, despite the challenges of the post-pandemic environment.
In true theatre fashion, we pivoted to deliver a slimmed-down version of the classic Capital E National Arts Festival by offering Bite-Size Treats over one week in May, making memories for children often experiencing their very first taste of a live show, getting up close with actors, costumes, sets, props and the magic of performance from local theatre companies.
More than just
a museum of
old things
From the charred remains of the Parliamentary slide to a milkshake maker from a much-loved dairy, Wellington Museum’s collections show it is much more than a museum of old things. We introduced our ‘Kohi Pōneke – We Collect Wellington’ campaign to our online audience this year to highlight Wellington Museum’s commitment to preserving and showcasing the rich history of Te Whanganui-a-Tara, bringing to light the tangible remnants of our past.
This ongoing digital series shares the stories of treasures both on display and in our Collection Store to shine a light on new taonga and objects in our collection. This is supported by our ‘We Collect Wellington’ showcase at Wellington Museum, which houses a diverse range of captivating objects throughout the year that truly capture the spirit of the region.
Our Contribution to the City we Love
We are proud of our achievements throughout this last year and the ongoing scale and growth of programmes and audiences reached.
560,883 Visitors through our Doors
15,308
Learning Experiences for Tamariki
364,542
Virtual Visitors
90,474
Social Media Followers
448
Public programmes, community workshops and public events
17
New exhibitions across our sites
21
Schools & ECE engaged with Capital E’s Bite-Size Treats
Revenue
Our physical visitation has bounced back wonderfully, though not quite to pre-Covid levels yet.
During 2022/23 Experience Wellington welcomed back the first cruise ships since pre-Covid-19.
This increased retail revenue throughout the period.
Total Revenue
Non-Council Revenue
Strategic Projects set the scene
to deliver remarkable experiences
We continue to work alongside our primary stakeholder, Wellington City Council, on key strategic projects.
