Kākano Gallery is the gallery of Kākano Youth Arts Collective, a visual arts initiative in shop 3 at 326 Great North Road in Henderson, West Auckland. The collective began as a pilot programme in 2013 for young people who had struggled with mainstream education, and it now runs three studio sessions a week for around 18 young people aged 12 to 20.
Young artists work with tutors who are practising artists across painting, printmaking, carving, photography and aerosol art. The collective holds an annual exhibition, and all artworks are for sale, with 80% of the proceeds going to the students. It also creates murals and artworks for public spaces, where students meet a client, work to a brief and budget, and build their own portfolio. The collective works alongside Unitec School of Art and Design, and some of its young people have gone on to foundation, certificate and degree study there.