Culture 101

If cities can be lonely places no one told artist Sallie Culy. A familiar face on the streets of inner city Poneke Wellington, Sallie counts many people she has met a friend. Its an approach to life summed up in the title of a book of her drawings recently published: Hello to Everybody. 

The shortlist for the 2025 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults was announced this week and, among the titles, is a story on the theme of Matariki by journalist and broadcaster Miriama Kamo. 

Arts news for 1 June 2025.

This next fortnight sees the visit of indigenous performers to Aotearoa from across Te Moana Nui a kiwa -the Pacific Ocean. They are presenting works at two established contemporary festivals - Pacific Dance New Zealand in Tamaki Makaurau Auckland, and Kia Mau in Poneke Wellington. 

Every week in RNZ Culture 101's Regional Wrap we find out about the arts scene in a place beyond our city centres. This week it's a suburb that developed its own sense of identity before travel was made easier by a harbour bridge. It's Takapuna on the North Shore of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.

A competition to see who's best at doing nothing will be one of the highlights at the Melbourne Rising Festival. The Space Out event will last 90 minutes and participants have to excel at doing nothing while treating it like a competitive sport. In a world that glorifies hustle culture and productivity, this is encouraging the opposite. First held in 2014, South Korean artist Woopsyang set up the...

In 1988 a choir founded in the '50s Soviet socialist era, the Bulgarian State Television Female Vocal Choir released the album Le Mystère Des Voix Bulgares. It won them a Grammy, turned them into an unlikely global sensation and is said to have helped birth the genre World music. Kate Bush recorded with them that same year, and David Bowie and his wife Iman even chose one of their songs to replace...

Angella Dravid is this year's Fred Award winner for best show at the International Comedy Festival, taking home the iconic gumboot and a prize of 5000 dollars. She's only the third woman to ever win that prize. Her comedy show I'm Happy For You is a dark spin on deeply personal stories, traumatic moments from her life and the concept of being jealous. Angella has also appeared in films and televis...

Each week, Culture 101 puts the spotlight on a different part of Aotearoa for our Regional Wrap. This week Culture 101 heads 45-minutes north of Auckland to Warkworth. It's located at the head of the Mahurangi Harbour with Matakana, Goat Island and Tawharanui regional park and beach nearby. The local museum features speakers each month telling stories of pioneering families. A permanent light inst...

There's a dark side to motherhood that can still be too taboo to talk about. It's the hidden part which can be lonely, filled with rage and the reality can be monstrous.

From Castlecliff to Thames, half court to full court, around Aotearoa artists are increasingly being commissioned to create eye-popping colourful designs for public basketball courts. These courts, here and internationally, have long been the obsession with drones of celebrated Tamaki Makaurau Auckland-based aerial photographer and artist Petra Leary. 

For most people, the concept of getting up on stage for improvisation is the stuff of nightmares, let alone doing it at work with your colleagues.

'Post High Slide' from Ohinehou Lyttleton based singer songwriter Mel Parsons is one of several new songs released ahead of a tour of Aotearoa and Australia that kicks off Sunday March 25 in Poneke Wellington. 

Arts news for 18th May 2025

With his teaching and his own independent game studio Zach Dodson aims to push the boundaries of narrative-driven games. 

It's been 10 years of the Italian Film Festival in Aotearoa and what started out as a way for Paolo Rotondo to showcase and preserve his culture here - is now a 9-month celebration across the country from April to January each year. Since 2015, more than 200 films have been shown and this year's programme is promising a curated selection of gripping dramas, heartwarming comedies and diversity. The...

Today we head to to Otautahi Christchurch and the seaside suburb of New Brighton east of the city. Joining us is a Kai Tahu, Ngati Maniapoto practitioner in rongoa and raranga (weaving) with the Kahu Collective Lisa Harding.

Male footwear with a whole lot more creative personality is a passion of two Culture 101 guests. Tamaki Makaurau Auckland curator, artist and arts advocate Nigel Borell and Poneke Wellington City Council officer Karepa Wall have, alongside artist Lisa Reihana, their shoes featured in a new exhibition Well Heeled: Shoes With Personality at the Dowse Art Museum in Lower Hutt until October 6. 

Award-winning poet and filmmaker Matariki Bennett is celebrating her debut poetry collection E kō, nō hea koe. It's been three years in the making and the coming-of-age style collection pays homage to Tamaki Makaurau, Wellington, her whanau and a period of her life in which she experienced many changes. The 22-year-old is a curator of the Auckland Writer's Festival alongside her father, writer and...

 I went into Liv Ward's debut solo comedy show in Poneke Wellington with many questions. And, after an hour of absurd theatre, they actually started to feel answered.

Josh Thomson has been in Wellington with his comedy festival show Old Mate which travels to Tamaki Makaurau this coming week. In his new set, he's coming to grips with his mortality, being a middle-aged parent and realising he's no longer the cool young buck he thought he'd always be. The comedian and actor has appeared across both New Zealand and international films and television including Gary...

Shiyi Redpath is better known as Lily Catastrophe, a burlesque performer whose debut solo theatre show, Bottom Surgery was a critical hit at this year's New Zealand and Dunedin fringe festivals. 

In the 1860s and 70s two Norwegian settlements were established in the lower North Island. As the name of one of those today suggests - Norsewood - Norwegians were invited to settle here to clear a huge swathe of forest known as Seventy Mile Bush. Which makes the arrival of Norwegian novelist Lars Mytting this weekend down the road at Featherston Booktown Karukatea Festival rather apt. 

Artist and illustrator Alex Scott's debut graphic novel Episodes has a dedication: "For anyone who's ever fallen for the commercial." Yes, whether it's a catchy theme tune, witty meme, friendly protagonist or memorable refrains, you may find yourself falling in love with an advertisement against your better judgement. 

Dr Kerryn Palmer is a senior lecturer at Te Herenga Waka Victoria University. A seasoned theatre practitioner and teacher, with a PhD in devising theatre for and with young audiences, she is a fierce advocate for the role of theatre and the arts for the young. She currently also facilitates national network PAYPA (Performing Arts and Young People Aotearoa). She believes systematic change is needed...