The Chartwell Trust New Commissions programme is a keystone event in the Artspace Aotearoa calendar. The annual programme commissions artwork by three emerging artists living in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland who receive mentorship throughout the year from senior artists and culminates in an exhibition at Artspace Aotearoa.

Evolving out of the legacy of Artspace Aotearoa’s annual New Artists show, the New Commissions programme aims to foster long term support and engagement with emerging artists from Tāmaki Makaurau.

In 2024, emerging artists Yana Dombrowsky-M’Baye, Dayle Palfreyman and Amber Ward were mentored by senior artists Shannon Te Ao, Ruth Buchanan, and Judy Millar. Their exhibition, Permissions, ran from 19 October – 21 December 2024.

What are the territories of the art world and what permissions are required to participate in it? In this exhibition, three artists explore familial, bodily, and social domains while navigating the fluid role of the “emerging artist”. This position affords an agility that allows them to occupy and trespass artist-run, public, and commercial spaces. Through film, sculpture and painting, the artists in this exhibition explore what values guide them through their practice and through the world at large.