First launched in 2011 with a commission for the artist Kate Newby, The North Terrace Commissions have given New Zealand artists the opportunity to create a large sculptural work within a spectacular outdoor setting. The North Terrace, on Level 2 of the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, overlooks Albert Park to the east and the central city to the west and the artists have engaged with this site in their work.

Newby’s inaugural commission, titled I’m just like a pile of leaves, saw her create a large concrete platform in which rain, leaves and city detritus became incorporated into over the months it was installed. It became a palette to walk on, to sit on and to enjoy as you paused to take in the surroundings. A brightly coloured rope emerged from the concrete and wove around the branches of a nearby tree and made a connection between the architecture of the Gallery, the platform, the accompanying cinder block wall and the city beyond.

Joined later by The Contemporary Benefactors patrons group at Auckland Art Gallery, The Chartwell Trust has partnered with the Gallery, and curator Natasha Conland, on several more commissions by:

• Kate Newby, I'm just like a pile of leaves, 3 Sep 2011 — 23 Mar 2012.
• Sriwhana Spong, Actions and Remains, 14 Apr 2012 — 21 Oct 2012. Commissioned by Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki and Chartwell for Made Active: The Chartwell Show.
• James Oram, Limited Time, 15 Dec 2012 — 13 Aug 2013.
• Mladen Bizumic, Kodachrome Presents (installation view), 10 Aug 2013 — 16 Nov 2013.
• Seung Yul Oh, SOOM, 29 Nov 2014 — 2 Jun 2015.
• John Ward Knox, Hardly Held Lightly, 24 Oct 2015 — 6 Jun 2016
• Oscar Enberg, Troubles de la croissance (der ursprung des pendels), 20 Dec 2016 — 15 Jul 2018. Supported by the Chartwell Trust and the Contemporary Benefactors of Auckland Art Gallery.
• Sorawit Songsataya, The Interior, 23 Nov 2019 — 23 Nov 2020, fibreglass, polyester resin, acrylic lacquer, Oamaru stone. Carver: Brett Tutauanui Keno (Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāi te Rangi, Ngāi Tahu). Commissioned by Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, 2019. Supported by the Chartwell Trust and the Contemporary Benefactors of Auckland Art Gallery
• Ana Iti, Takoto, 2020, commissioned by Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, 2020, supported by the Chartwell Trust and the Contemporary Benefactors of Auckland Art Gallery
• Suji Park, Meonji Soojibga: Dust Collector, 2022, commissioned by Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki 2022, supported by the Chartwell Trust and the Contemporary Benefactors of Auckland Art Gallery