All Our Art
In-Person Programmes

or contact Alex on:
Ph: 09 845 5361
Mob: 0220 454 391
E: alex@mapurastudios.org.nz

Māpura Studios offers innovative art programmes for children, teens and adults of all abilities, with particular care given to ensuring those with diverse needs are provided for.

Each programme consists of approximately 10 sessions which mirror the New Zealand school term structure. Any person of any background and life experience who is interested in developing their creativity is welcome. Enrolments are possible at any point during a term.

The sessions provide a learning process in many genres of arts education especially orientated to the requirements and circumstances of our artists; they also promote and encourage self-development through the vehicle of creative expression.

Below is a list of our core classes. Click on the green links for more information.

During the enrolment process, we work to place an individual into a programme that best suits them. Contact us to discuss the best options (info@mapurastudios.org.nz or Ph 09 845 5361).

Or you can register your interest online and we will contact you with more information.

Important dates for 2024:

Term One: 30 Jan to 12 April 2024 (11 weeks)

Term Two: 29 April to 5 July 2024 (10 weeks)

Term Three: 22 July to 27 September 2024 (10 weeks)

Term Four: 14 October to 13 December 2024 (9 weeks)

NB: Māpura Studios welcomes enrolments at any point during a term

Full timetable is at the bottom of the page

Wellness & Creativity is the Māpura evening class for anyone and everyone who wants to find new ways of coping with anxiety and stress in a fun and creative way.

The goal is to make you feel comfortable and relaxed in your own body through wellness and creativity.

Māpura Music is a collaborative programme open to all ages and abilities. No musical experience or skill is necessary, just a ‘give it a go’ attitude and a willingness to explore sound and creativity in a supportive and fun environment.

You’ll create soundscapes, songs and audio atmospheres, and learn how to design album covers, posters and web pages to accompany your music.

Singing is a fun,therapeutic activity that can show benefits across the spectrum of the domains of development – physical, social-emotional, cognitive, and language. 

This group will provide opportunities to experience and practice the techniques required in singing, experiment to find your own sound, and collaborate to create our own ‘Mapura Songs’.

This is a dynamic and diverse programme designed for young people and adults who want to extend their art making capabilities through a variety of different mediums and techniques.

The programme is responsive to your learning needs and interests. It provides a sound process for you to develop your capabilities in art making, and to enjoy expressing yourself through a variety of media. 

If you have experience with making art, Studio Practice could be the class for you.

The artists in this class are self-directed - you choose what you’d like to work on and how you’ll do it. If you have a brilliant idea for an artwork, then go for it!

Many of the Studio Practice artists explore new ideas and ways of working, in the studio and at home. A lot of their work reflects their personal experiences and unique perceptions of life.

Our Open Studios classes are dynamic learning environments allowing artists to develop their creative skills and art activities. The art tutors and therapists encourage the artists to be self-directed, to explore personally meaningful themes and content in their work, and develop their own unique style.

You’ll be encouraged to discover new ways of expressing yourself, introduced to new media - whether it be paint, charcoal, pens or print making - and to tell your own story using visual imagery.

This group-centred enquiry process initiates a journey of self-reflection and an in-depth examination into the experience of having stroke-affect.

Art forms are introduced as tools to enable participants emotional and psychological exploration and to provide insight, healing and resolution.

The group environment provides a sense of connection and community for people who may feel isolated in their experience; a place to constructively and safely share and be heard. The process is dynamic and life enhancing.

Programmes are held at St Lukes and South Auckland.

Art Transition is a 10 week programme focusing on supporting people as they move from the art therapy stroke programme to our specialised in-studio stroke art class, Leading a Creative Life. 

This programme involves forming connections, ongoing conversations about rehabilitation, and an introduction to visual art skills. Various techniques and media (painting, drawing) as well as methodology are explored.

Participants are encouraged to develop their own creative ideas. 

Leading a Creative Life offers an exciting artistic journey to stroke survivors and people with brain injuries or similar effects.

The environment is supportive and stimulating.

This programme focuses on visual art - particularly painting and drawing - with exploration and imagination encouraged.

You’ll be in a lively studio enjoying the companionship of others who have had a comparable life experience.

This programme is specially designed for young adults, ages 18 to 25, who want to connect with their peers while making art. The focus of this art therapy group is socialisation through engagement in a group setting.

Belonging and sharing common experiences are very important, so interaction and conversation are encouraged, topics such as relationships, finances, living conditions and increased independence. Also we explore creative skills and artistic development. Common themes can be a wonderful subject matter for art, with the results being innovative and creative. Participants will also gain confidence and social skills to apply outside the studio.

Our North Shore Art Group is an open studio programme for all ages and abilities, with particular provision made for youth with diverse and complex needs. This is a supportive and safe environment so students can relax, create and form healthy relationships with each other.

The programme is tailored to the individual student’s needs and abilities. They work with the tutor to explore and extend their creative skills, and get together to investigate themes and areas of interest.

At PHAB Clubrooms, Takapuna, North Shore.

This is a Creative Class in Orewa for people wanting to express themselves through art making and finding their own visual voice. The class is designed for  participants who have either experienced some stress or trauma such as aphasia or loss.

Students will be taught a range of modalities print, paint, drawing and sculpture. No previous experience is necessary. We aim to meet you, and perhaps offer guidance, wherever you are on your creative and artistic journey.

The Creative Living group environment is a friendly and supportive community, a mixture of creativity and therapeutic outcomes.  
At ESTUARY ARTS in Orewa

Creative Living is a dynamic programme designed to develop your visual art skills and creativity in an instructive and stimulating environment.

The focus is on your individual learning requirements, as well as those of the group. You will be encouraged to explore and experiment, and to develop new ways of thinking and perceiving through the process of making art. The tutors support you as you develop your own concepts and ideas. No previous experience is necessary. We aim to meet you, and perhaps offer guidance, wherever you are on your creative and artistic journey.  The work is deeply rehabilitative and therapeutic.

At ALL GOODS art space in Avondale

This is an open studio group; you will be encouraged to be self-directed in your work, drawing on your own experiences to create and develop characters and themes.

Your skills are developed through the combination of image and text, humour and narrative. You’ll focus on your own imagery and ideas and, with the guidance or help of a tutor, produce a self-published, or digital, zine or comic book.

The Cartooning programme covers various genres: All abilities and ages are welcome
At Real World Living, Papakura

This group is based in Ōtāhuhu, although it doesn’t matter where you live, you’re most welcome to join.

Singing brings joy, both to the singer and the listener; it’s an uplifting experience.

When you join Singing South Auckland, you’ll be engaging in a therapeutic activity that can be beneficial in so many areas - physical, social and emotional, linguistic and cognitive. 

At OTAHUHU TOWN HALL in South Auckland

This is an open studio group, with the focus on comics and illustration. You will be encouraged to be self-directed in your work, drawing on your own experiences to create and develop characters and themes.

Your skills are developed through the combination of image and text, humour and narrative. You’ll focus on your own imagery and ideas and, with the guidance or help of a tutor, produce a self-published, or digital, zine or comic book.

The Cartooning programme covers various genres. Learn how to use a wide range of techniques from drawing to printing making and painting, and you’ll find out about the various ways of reproducing your comic art. All abilities and ages are welcome. .

Movement & Art is an innovative programme combining music, movement and visual art for people with disabilities.

You will learn how to relax and feel comfortable in an enjoyable and safe environment.

The tutor plays a variety of music to inspire movement, rhythm and dance. You’re encouraged to immerse yourself in the music and respond spontaneously. If you are unable to physically make a particular movement, you can create it in your imagination. This may extend your body’s capabilities beyond what you thought was possible.

Making art is fun. You have the freedom to do whatever you want. You come up with the ideas for your art work, then you choose how to turn those ideas into ‘things’ - paintings, drawings, sculptures, whatever you like! - and you decide what their purpose is. 

Enjoying yourself and being relaxed in the studio is really important. The Kids Art Club tutors provide a welcoming and inclusive environment where every voice is listened to with respect and interest.  

While techniques are taught the emphasis is on self-expression and freedom of creativity.

There’s plenty of room for everyone - all abilities and all ages. 

Dance and Movement Therapy is freeing; it enables you to explore body-awareness, self-expression, and to discover new abilities.  The class looks at diverse cultures and backgrounds as inspiration for the creation of new and innovative dances.  

There is collaboration and communication, creativity and personal empowerment. Participants are encouraged to share stories as well as dances.  This is a safe and fun environment for everyone.
At ONEHUNGA COMMUNITY HOUSE in South Auckland

Come along and explore painting, drawing, poetry, you will be encouraged to develop your own creative ideas.

We especially welcome those who live with stroke affect, aphasia, neurological conditions, epilepsy, depression and anxiety.  

Māngere Library courtyard.

All ages and abilities.

No experience necessary, just a willingness to get creative!

Be part of a friendly and supportive community.

Explore various art materials and processes and develop your creative skills and art activities with painting, drawing, clay and assemblage.

The art tutors encourage you to be self-directed, to explore themes and content in your work that have meaning to you, and to develop your own individual style. 

Be part of a friendly and supportive community.

The Expressive Arts Programme for Real World Living Community offers the participants to navigate an artistic journey, cultivating creativity through dance, movements and visual art forms. It explores how the arts can inspire and uplift the sense of self and as a community through the languages of arts in a therapeutic atmosphere.  

Term One 2024 Programmes -
Monday 30 January - Friday 13 December