Checkmate

Be part of a gigantic chessboard in Aotea Square!

Ready to level up your school holidays? Gather your friends, whānau and fellow grandmasters to experience the FREE immersive installation Checkmate – a giant-sized chess set featuring 14 towering pieces, part of this year’s We The Young children’s festival.

Checkmate is an engaging and interactive experience that brings people of all ages together to immerse themselves into this large scale chess board. Located in Aotea Square, this fun installation invites families, friends, and visitors to come together, play, discover and create another memorable moment in the heart of the city.

The installation will be open 24 hours a day, 7 days, but the best time to view it is 8am – 11pm.

Story behind Checkmate

Like an intricate dance of ‘mini sculptures’, each chess piece embodies its own rules and movements, inviting players into a poetic interplay of intellect and concentration. By transforming this iconic symbol into a monumental spectacle, the public is invited to undertake a wondrous and expansive journey of extraordinary proportions.

Each chess piece draws inspiration from the 20th Century Bauhaus movement, a pivotal era where art and design converged, shaping modern aesthetics. This artwork reverently pays homage to Bauhaus’s historical impact, celebrating its fusion of creativity and functionality.