Presented by Port of Auckland and curated by Simon Bowerbank, Director of Whangārei Art Museum, this year’s season is shaped by the curatorial framework Thresholds & Crossings — a timely meditation on the forces, flows, and tensions that define life at the edge of land and sea.

Projected onto a 110-metre-long, 13-metre-high structure made up of nearly 8,500 individually programmable LED lights, The Lightship transforms a functional part of the working port into a striking platform for public art.

In a time marked by cost-of-living pressures, The Lightship offers an accessible cultural moment for the public. Aiming to reconnect communities through creativity, The Lightship delivers a powerful visual experience in the public realm at a time when art, optimism and shared inspiration are most needed.

Julie Wagener, General Manager Communications, Government and Community Relations at Port of Auckland, says “The Lightship is a light in the dark — a beacon of creativity and connection in a time when many are feeling the strain. The Lightship was purpose-built with this vision in mind. It provides both emerging and established artists with a rare opportunity to create large-scale, site-specific works that engage with Auckland’s urban landscape and the harbour it overlooks. It is our gift to the city.”

Launched in 2020, The Lightship is a car-handling facility by day, and a large-scale digital canvas by night. Visible daily from dusk until dawn, each artist’s work will reach commuters, ferry passengers, visitors and waterfront pedestrians — offering a powerful intersection of infrastructure and art.

“As a port based in the heart of the city, we see it as both a privilege and a responsibility to contribute to the Auckland cultural life. The Lightship, as a contemporary art platform, reflects our ongoing commitment to giving back to the place we’re proud to call home — delivering a striking visual experience for Aucklanders and visitors alike, while shining a light on creative talent from both sides of the Tasman.”

The full programme for The Lightship will run from September 2025 to August 2026, with the first commissioned artists confirmed as Esther Stewart, Jack B. Hadley, Jess Johnson & Simon Ward and John Ward Knox. The final two artists will be announced in the new year.

Simon Bowerbank, Curator of The Lightship, says “The artists selected this year represent a dynamic cross-section of perspectives from both sides of the Tasman. Working across painting, sculpture, digital animation and installation, each artist approaches their medium with a strong conceptual focus, whether exploring constructed environments, imagined worlds, or the language of form itself.”

Save the Date: The Lightship launches 1 September 2025 with a new work by Esther Stewart, on display until 26 October 2025.

Location: The Lightship is located on Quay Street at Port of Auckland, wrapping around the Bledisloe Wharf car-handling facility

Find out more about The Lightship or upcoming artist installations here.