About

Exposure Exhibition He Kanohi Kitea showcases the work of our graduating students, including undergraduates in design, fine arts, screen arts and commercial music. 

Work by Masters students in design, fine arts and Māori visual arts will also be on display.

Ngā Pae Māhutonga offers a comprehensive and contemporary range of design courses, and with its high calibre faculty and world-class facilities, it is an ideal environment for not only students, but also other partner enterprises to realise their full creative potential. 

Our design programmes equip students with a range of interdisciplinary design skills, and during their studies enable them to address local and  global issues that produce inspirational design solutions for a rapidly changing world. Graduates and faculty embody the highest creative and professional attributes required to work globally in design businesses and the creative industries including: Nike, Xero, Fisher & Paykel, Wētā Workshop, Wētā Digital, TradeMe, Designworks, Sauce FX, Pik Pok, Icebreaker, Saatchi & Saatchi, Clemenger BBDO, Kate Sylvester,  Kathmandu, IDEO, Apple, Philips, Ducati, GoPro.

Ngā Pae Māhutonga — Wellington School of Design was ranked second in the Asia-Pacific region at the recent 2024 annual International Red Dot Awards and has been in the top 3 design schools for 10 years in a row.

Designers Institute of New Zealand, Best Design Awards Massey graduates have proven consistent success over the past 20 years at New Zealand’s most prestigious design awards. In 2024 our graduates and undergraduates were awarded 8 gold, 7 silver, and 12 bronze in the digital, product, spatial, graphics, social good and toitanga categories. It is a testament to their hard work and dedication to their craft, and to a design education that emphasises professional design expertise, innovative thinking as well as relevance within the wider societal context.

Majors include:

visual communication design*

concept design

photography

fashion design

integrated design

textile design

spatial design

industrial design

*a full suite of visual communication design pathways including graphic design, illustration, typography, branding, information design, interaction design, moving image and service and experience design options.

Ranked #1 Art and Design school in Aotearoa and  top 150 Worldwide for Art and Design for 7 years running. 

— QS World University Rankings 

Whiti o Rehua — School of Art offers exciting pathways into contemporary art within Aotearoa New Zealand across a wide range of media and processes, via mātauranga Māori, and visual and material cultures. Our programme is not one of conventional discipline-based learning, but focuses instead on the development of the students’ interests through studio practice, tutorials, critique, discussion sessions, lectures and forums. Students share studios with other second, third and fourth year students, which provides them with a supportive peer-learning environment.

The School of Art’s faculty is comprised of leading practitioners that include Walters Prize winners Shannon Te Ao and Erena Arapere-Baker, member of 2022 Arts Foundation Laureate and winner of the 60th Venice Biennale Golden Lion, Mataaho Collective, and Fulbright laureate Simon Morris, amongst other well-established researchers, international practising artists, curators, art writers and critics. They are supported by expert technicians and facilities that allow our students to expand their art practice and explore new media, including sculpture, painting, drawing, performance, installation, moving image, photography, printmaking, site-responsive work, curatorial activities and art writing. 

While the Bachelor of Māori Visual Arts programme is not present in Exposure in Wellington, they present their simultaneous influential, transformative and kaupapa Māori-led exhibition at Te Manawa, Palmerston North. 

Our graduates are artists who work in a variety of mediums and exhibit regularly in dealer galleries, municipal museums, artist-run spaces and have participated in residencies across the world. They work in the wider arts community as critics, curators, writers and educators. They run galleries, both commercial and as artist-run spaces. They are innovative builders, designers and outfitters who also go on to work in the film and entertainment industries. They teach at secondary and tertiary level. They work in publishing and advertising industries. They design and manage websites and social media or are VJs in nightclubs and stage events. Some also continue their studies at Masterate or Doctoral levels at Massey Univeristy or elsewhere in Aotearoa.

When possible, students are introduced to international visiting artists through exhibitions at The Engine Room Gallery and Te Whare Hēra International Artist in Residence programme, delivered in partnership with Wellington City Council.

Te Rewa O Puanga was established in 2015 to address the expansion of New Zealand’s international reputation for innovation and creativity in music and screen arts. It features recording, rehearsal and live performance studios, a virtual production volume, a dolby atmos cinema, post-production facilities including a dubbing theatre, music and creative technology labs, and a motion performance capture studio.

Commercial Music
Our Commercial Music programme is the only degree in New Zealand designed specifically to address the creation, production, promotion and distribution of tomorrow’s music. It has three majors: Music Practice (contemporary composition and performance), Music Technology (music software and hardware development, live and studio engineering) and Music Industry (promotion, copyright, management, and distribution).

Screen Arts
In 2023 we moved into new facilities and opened a state-of the-art live broadcast studio, a virtual production volume and dolby atmos cinema. These facilities expanded our students’ access to industry specific software and equipment. The degree is taught by experienced academics, technical staff and visiting artists, producers and  entrepreneurs.

Te Tohu Paetahi Pūoro Pakihi Bachelor of Commercial Music Majors in:

Music Practice
Music Technology
Music Industry

Bachelor of Screen Arts Majors in:
Animation
Factual Production
Film Production
Game Development
Immersive Media
Media Technology
Visual Effects

The college now has a state of the art multi-million dollar facility that is the only one of its kind in Australasia.