Lopdell House is Titirangi's historic cultural heart and its functions go far beyond an art…read moregallery. I've been here on school trips doing art workshops in the dank basement. I've been to plays in the theatre by the Titirangi Theatre Company. My favourite thing to do here is to ride the elevator; vintage and beautiful with a pull-across iron gate. Even just popping in to the cafe to soak up the atmosphere is worthwhile. Unfortunately none of us will be doing much of anything at Lopdell House for the next little while as Auckland Council treats it to a much-needed makeover including serious structural work and a whole new adjacent building. In the meantime the gallery and theatre are operating out of temporary spaces in New Lynn. We can look forward to this grand old lady that started life as a hotel, reopening rejuvenated and hopefully being around for many years to come.

A great new gallery building next to the lovely Lopdell House. Amazing architecture & veiws along…read morewith cool contemporary art exhibitions. A great reason to head west! Stop on the way to tbe beach.

Art Oasis is a cute little shop squeezed between the florist and bookstore out in Titirangi that…read moreshowcases the works of local artists. These works include anything from wall hangings, to wire scupltures, to prints, to jewellery, so an eclectic mix of local artistic output is what you'll be pleased to find here. They also offer art classes for kids, teenagers and adults, thus making it quite the "creative hub" of Titirangi as what they claim on their website. The lady was very helpful and chatty even though we said we were just having a casual browse; often be a refreshing change from typical sales drive shop assistants you often encounter. If you come here I would definitely recommend taking a look through all of the awesome prints they have on offer, a lot of unique local pieces that are pretty well priced.

This is an art gallery. It is A-ok, it does not stand out amongst the crowd I'm afraid, however it…read moreis what is inside that counts right? Inside this gallery, 2013, 1st March till the 16th March is an exhibition by a local artist called Stephen John Smith. The art is all abstract, which I have a love/hate relationship with. Some of it rocks my boat and some of it just makes me sigh. The gallery, to give it some more cred, also offers art tuition for adults, teenagers and children; plus it is situated in the very lovely Titirangi. It has potential. I will be back. Please note that the opening hours are seasonal and can change during school holidays.

I love the Corban's Art centre. Has consistently great exhibitions which showcase local and…read morenational artists, workshops in which you can chat to local artists and a fantastic gift shop which is always my first stop if I want to buy a gift with an Aotearoa flavour. Also runs community art workshops and has a lovely coffee shop. Love it!

I have just discovered my favourite art gallery in Auckland!!! Yay!!!!…read more I had heard about this place in the past, even considered applying for a job in their shop at one stage, but because I don't go out to Henderson all that much it just had never happened, so earlier this week I made a lunch date with my husband at the Corban Arts Estate Cafe (also a winner on my list of Auckland's finest haunts, please refer to separate review to find out why...). After our yummy lunch he headed back to work and I went of gallery viewing... The gallery has three separate rooms but all under the same roof, as you enter the front building. The gallery space is not ample, but laid out professionally and aesthetically. There was three shows exhibiting whilst I was visiting, my personal favourite was by the artist Sopolemalama Filipe Tohi, a name that may be challenging to pronounce but worth remember, this artist is a very skilled craftsman. His work revolved around La Lava, "the Tongan art of lashing or binding". He demonstrated his art through several mediums, from weaving intricate and time consuming wool pieces displayed on the wall, to building large and small geometric designs with timber. They created wonderful patterns for eye and mind to appreciate. I also liked the lightings relationship with the art, creating shadows of the designs playfully across the wall. Plus, the framing was matched beautifully, unique double edges that brought the work forward bringing extra life to the forms. Last, but not least was a really great shop were the artists (in residence) sold their mix of talents - from pottery, paintings, upcycled crafts, jewellery, cards and much more. And at affordable prices! If you haven't been to Corbans before then it is time to go; if you have been there before then go again.

This name is deceiving, or perhaps I am just foolish! I have previously walked past this place and…read morehad always thought it must be 'upstairs' and would go in next time when I "have more time". Now I have made that time and I am glad I did. Downstairs is housed this great little community gallery. They change the exhibit every month and it is made up of an eclectic mix of work for purchase by established and emerging artists. The focus is on community and is linked to the Titirangi Community Arts Council. I was pleased to hear that sales have been up since moving to New Lynn in September 2012 and although they are only there temporarily for the next two years whilst Lopdell House gets a new look I am sure good things may come out of this relocation.

This little gallery space sits upstairs above Fiesta Coffee Lounge. Gone are the days of sipping…read morewine and gallery viewing - now it is time to latte and look darling! The cafe downstairs is fabulous so it was no surprises that the gallery (and a few table and chairs) upstairs were fabulous too. If only I knew about this when my friend Rosita, from Australia, was over recently, she would have loved it! Today when I went Fiesta were exhibiting work by two artists, Melissa Martyn and Trish Northey, both series of works were highly professional and talented. The latter exhibited only four pieces, but they were large and dominating, oil paintings on heavy weight linen canvas, depicting scenes of the ocean and clouds. This description will not be doing the work justice at all, the pieces sound simple but invoke majestic scenes through colour and brush stroke. Remember it is oil paint too, so the texture plays a large part in this aesthetic. The other artist had work that was quite different; detailed paintings of birds on timber, the presentation complimented the work very well. Melissa was also selling this work for a very, very good price - $200 each (the one larger piece was $230). Incredibly cheap for such the amount of work that went into them. Occasionally I like to collect pieces of original art, to beautify the home and to help support artists, at the moment money is very tight so I could't, but I am going to keep my eye on this artist for sure! Well done to all involved.