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Auckland-based writer and academic Dr Peter Simpson has been awarded the 2012 Creative New Zealand Michael King Writer’s Fellowship.
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The finalists have now been selected for the Fieldays No.8 Wire National Art Award 2012. This year’s judge, Jeff Thomson, has chosen 17 entries for the award.
 
Thomson, better known as the iron man of Australasia for his corrugated iron sculptures, found the task of choosing the finalists challenging due to the high quality of the entries submitted this year.
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As Marcel Lucont crowd surfed his way out of the Skycity theatre last night entertaining the crowd – it was local stars Guy Williams and Rhys Darby who took home the big awards of the night at the Festivals closing event Last Laughs hosted, this year, by Te Radar. Read More »

In response to debates on the merits of public funding for the new reality TV show The GC, NZ On Air has released the series proposal.

Originally titled Golden Mozzies, named after Maori Aussies known as ‘Mozzies’, it was billed as a 8 x half-hour observational documentary. Read More »

The true story of a World War l Kiwi soldier has won the country’s highest honour in children’s writing at the 2012 New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards.
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In an invitation only awards ceremony held at the Backbeat bar on Auckland’s K’Rd  (Wed 16th May), around a hundred industry guests including some of New Zealand’s best music managers got together to celebrate some standout successes from last year.
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The long-term closure of the Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu has meant 17 staff – most of whom are part-time – have had their positions disestablished.
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Auckland Theatre Company is delighted to announce ASB Community Trust will contribute $5m to the new theatre proposed for the Wynyard Quarter.

The contribution takes the total pledged to the new theatre $21.7m. The total amount needed to build the new 600 seat venue is $35.1m.
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Auckland Theatre Company (ATC) and AUT University are pleased to announce New Zealand's first comprehensive theatre and university partnership. The partnership will be focussed on supporting the business of theatre through education.
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One of two expert weavers, Auomala Folasa-Solo, who will visit New Zealand in June as part of the cultural exchange celebrating Samoa’s 50th anniversary of independence.
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New Zealand’s role as Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair has generated record breaking rights sales for New Zealand writers and publishers.

66 book titles are being translated and published in Germany in 2012, an unprecedented high for New Zealand’s publishing industry.
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Courtesy of The Arts Foundation

Dr Arnold Manaaki Wilson - Ngai Tuhoe & Te Arawa | MNZM | Arts Foundation Icon - has passed away. Our condolences to Arnold's whanau and friends. Read More »

Media Statement: Hon Tariana Turia & Hon Dr Pita Sharples - Maori Party Co-Leaders

Hinepukohurangi, uhia te tara o Taiarahia!

E hora ki te riu o Whakatane, kia tamate ai nga tangi o o tamariki o Ngai Tuhoe, e aue ana i te mamae!

Tuhoe, Tarawhai, nga waka whanui o Mataatua, o Te Arawa, e tangi ki to koutou mate ki a Arnold Manaaki Wilson kua tiraha mai ra. Read More »

The Government must understand the importance and value of design to the New Zealand economy when it considers diverting tertiary funds from other disciplines into science, technology and maths (STEM subjects), says Tony Parker, the president of the Designers Institute of New Zealand (DINZ).
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It’s been a season of edgy, thought provoking cinema during this year’s Documentary Edge Festival, and ahead of its season in Wellington from May 17th, Grant Lahood’s Intersexion and Steve James’ The Interrupters scoop the big prizes at the annual Documentary Edge Gala 2012 on May 3.
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The artist selected for the 2012 Toi Sgwigwialtxw (pronounced: sgweg-voi-out) Residency in North America weaves exquisitely detailed poi, as well as bold, striking kakahu (clothing).  He is also a man working in what is currently, a largely female world. 
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The APRA Best Country Music Song finalists have been announced! And they are: Read More »

NZ On Air will fund 34 new music projects from its April MakingTracks funding round. Read More »

The finalists for the 2012 Pacific Music Awards have been announced with hip-hop heavy-weight David Dallas and R&B duo Adeaze both securing four nominations each, while Kas Futialo – a.k.a Tha Feelstyle - is nominated in three categories.
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One of the greatest radio ambushes in New Zealand radio history took place in the last week of April 1937, and two new features from the Radio Heritage Foundation celebrate the 75th anniversary of this cheeky event.

Commercial station 2ZB was launching with much fanfare on April 28 but was upstaged by commercial sounding [but non-commercial] station 2YD launching on April 25. Read More »

The Save TVNZ 7 online petition registered its 10,000th signature last night, campaign organisers announced today. By midnight it had reached 11,599.
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This Saturday, April 28, will see the launch of Choice TV on the Freeview HD digital platform. It will be New Zealand’s first broad appeal Free-To-Air TV channel launched in more than a decade.  Read More »

More than $21,000 will be donated to the Christchurch Earthquake Mayoral Relief Fund, thanks to last month’s auction of 140 artworks created by 75 prisoners across the three Canterbury prisons: Christchurch Men’s Prison, Christchurch Women’s Prison and Rolleston Prison. Read More »

The nominees for New Zealand’s most prestigious award for contemporary art have been decided. The finalists’ artworks will be exhibited at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki for three months from 4 August, at the end of which the winner will be announced. Read More »

Blair French has been announced as the curator of the 7th SCAPE Christchurch Biennial of Art in Public Space to be held in September 2013.
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The winner of the third annual Taite Music Prize 2012 is Unknown Mortal Orchestra for their self-titled album released on Seeing Records.
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Within 24 hours, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki has been the recipient of three national awards.

At the 2012 New Zealand Museum Awards dinner last night, the Gallery won the Project Achievement Award for Museum or Gallery Development. Earlier, the Gallery was also announced a winner in two categories of the 2012 New Zealand Architecture Awards: Heritage and Public Architecture. Read More »

In the fifth Annual National Museum Awards last night, Waikato Museum was awarded the Project Achievement Award: Exhibition Excellence – Social History for its  2011 exhibition Red, Yellow and (All) Black and the Judges Award for Sustainability for its innovative temporary exhibition wall fabrication system.
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The New Zealand short film – Night Shift, written and directed by Zia Mandviwalla, has been chosen to compete for the 2012 Short Film Palme d’or at the top film festival on the international calendar.  Night Shift has been selected out of 4,500 films to be in the final 10 competing for the prestigious prize. Read More »

Twenty projects have been recognised in the 2012 New Zealand Architecture Awards. Read More »