COMMODE is an independent gallery dedicated to experimental exhibition making and critical discourse. It treats the gallery as a site of research, an active space where ideas are tested, methods are developed, and the relationships between art, politics, and knowledge are continually reconfigured.

Operating as a platform for artistic and curatorial experimentation, COMMODE approaches exhibition making as a mode of thought that exceeds disciplinary boundaries. Each project unfolds as an iterative study, engaging both established and emerging artists whose practices sit at the forefront of contemporary debate.

Founded in 2025 by DJCS, COMMODE extends a lineage of independent initiatives including Parasite (2020–2022), which occupied the staircase of DJCS’ home on Karangahape Road, Tāmaki Makaurau. Its artistic and curatorial projects also draw from queer night space and sex industry, acknowledging these sites as vital architectures of community, resistance, and self-definition, particularly within landscapes shaped by gentrification and the contested formation of urban identity. Now based in central Pōneke, COMMODE maintains its commitment to critical, intimate, and situated modes of production, foregrounding practices that speak to the urgencies, complexities, and possibilities of the present.

COMMODE is located on the whenua of Te Aro Pā. We recognise Te Āti Awa and Taranaki Whānui ki te Upoko o te Ika a Māui as mana whenua of where we are located, and with neighbouring Ngāti Toa, as mana whenua of Te Whanganui a Tara.

Opening hours:

Wednesday – Friday: 12–5pm
Saturday: 12–3pm

Visit:

Level 4, Anvil House
138 Wakefield Street
Te Aro, 6011
Te Whanganui a Tara
Aotearoa

Accessibility:

Free. COMMODE is located on level 4 of Anvil House. There is ramp access into the building, and two elevators to level 4. There are gender neutral bathrooms, but they are not wheelchair accessible. If you have an access requirement, please let us know and we will endeavour to help you.

People:
DJCS, curator

Contact:

Mail: info@commode.co.nz
Ph: +64 22 399 8915

COMMODE extends thanks to those who have supported us, including Jillian Allen, Jim and Mary Barr, Elvis Booth-Claveria, Samuel Mark Clyma, James Dobson, Jack Ellery, Henrietta Fisher, Ritual Heaps, Manon, Emily Lyall, and others who share our commitment to independent thought.

If you would like to donate to COMMODE, contact us.

COMMODE is funded by Creative New Zealand.

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