Festival Opera is celebrating 10 years of introducing, training and supporting young people in the opera through the Project Prima Volta community programme in Hawkes Bay.

Known for its surf and beaches, Mangawhai may not strike you as a hub for arts and culture. But locals are extremely proud of the modern museum which celebrates the town’s rich history, life around the harbour and the fight to save the endangered fairy tern.

Hamiltonians are getting the last laugh as the first-ever comedy club in the city is opening this month. Coinciding with the Comedy Festival, Last Laugh Comedy Club is the only comedy club in the Waikato region.

Actor, director and writer John Davies is celebrating 50 years in theatre with a national solo tour. Te Tupua - The Goblin is travelling to 16 regional centres, with Davies playing nine characters in English and te reo Māori.

The closure of the City Gallery building won't stop it from bringing art to the capital, its boss says.

A familiar face from stage and screen in New Zealand and Australia, Sara Wiseman is on stage with ATC for the first time in 20 years, as Dr Lorna James in The Effect.

Arts news for Sunday 28 April 2023

The large wall hung quilts of takatāpui fabric artist and storyteller Maungaronga Te Kawa (Ngāti Porou) leap and sparkle as joyous dance. They are blankets of aroha for a world that needs it. 

Yet bright colours and animated cartoon figures belie the sophistication of these works. They test the boundaries of both Toi Māori and contemporary art, bringing social concerns to the fore through quilting.

New Zealand’s local production and screen industry is in crisis. But how did it get to this point? 

“It’s been years of international streaming companies operating in New Zealand without any regulation,” says Screen Production and Developers Association (SPADA) President Irene Gardiner.

Each week, Culture 101 puts the spotlight on a different region in Aotearoa and this week it’s Taupō with artist, musician, composer, puppeteer and stone carver, Jeffrey Addison.